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Conor McGregor record: Weight, height and reach, professional career stats, next bout and more

Marc Williams — Fri, 24 Nov 2023 11:56:49 +0000

Conor McGregor is yet to return to UFC over two years after breaking his leg against Dustin Poirier, but he’s still one of the biggest sportspeople on the planet.

The Irishman boasts an excellent record and his unique character has seen him attract millions of fans.

McGregor is still waiting to get back in the octagon

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‘Notrorious’ is now fully fit and is eyeing up a comeback fight against Michael Chandler in early 2024, with that deal all but done.

And he will be hoping to secure another major win to get his UFC career underway again.

Conor McGregor: Debut and who he has fought

McGregor made his debut at Cage of Truth 2 in March 2008, beating Gary Morris in Dublin inside the first ten seconds.

His first defeat came just two fights later when Artemij Sitenkov made him submit.

He recovered with two wins but lost again in November 2010, being choked out by Joseph Duffy at Cage Warriors 39: The Uprising in Cork.

McGregor then began his domination of the sport, chalking up 15 straight wins, including adding the Cage Warriors lightweight belt to his featherweight strap in 2012. It wasn’t look before he made his UFC debut against Marcus Brimage in April 2013.

His win over Chad Mendes at UFC 189 saw him claim the UFC featherweight title and he followed that up with his infamous 13-second victory over Jose Aldo in December 2015.

Next came his incredible battles with Nate Diaz. He lost their first meeting before gaining revenge at UFC 202 in two of the greatest bouts we ever seen.

He then beat Eddie Alvarez in November 2016 at UFC 205 to become both the featherweight and lightweight champion.

He then suffered a damaging defeat to Khabib Nurmagomedov.

McGregor then beat Donald Cerrone, two years later before losing back-to-back bouts against Poirier.

And in the second fight, the Irishman broke his leg, and he hasn’t fought since.

Nurmagomedov tapped out McGregor with a fourth round submission at UFC 229

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McGregor was left in agony when his leg snapped during the second bout against Poirier

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Conor McGregor: Wins, losses and professional record

Of the 28 fights he has faced, McGregor has won 22 of them and lost on six occasions.

He has claimed 19 victories by way of knockout with one submission win and two by decision.

Four of his pro defeats have come by the way of submission, and he’s been knocked out twice.

Conor McGregor: Weight, height and reach

McGregor’s weight depends on what division he is fighting in.

He scaled in at 70kg for his lightweight defeat to Nurmagomedov but he has also fought at featherweight (65kg) and welterweight (77kg).

The 35-year-old, who is left handed and primarily fights out of the southpaw stance, is 5ft 9in (175cm) and has a reach of 74in (188cm).

McGregor is known mostly for his dangerous strike power and often prefers to fight standing up.

McGregor made history at MSG in 2016 when he beat Alvarez to become the first fighter to hold two UFC world titles simultaneously

Conor McGregor: Next fight and future opponents

McGregor is eyeing a return UFC early next year to on Chandler.

However, until we get a confirmed date, it’s a fluid situation and we might have to wait a bit longer for McGregor’s return.

Hopefully, everything goes to plan and we get to see the Irishman in action against Chandler.

Israel Adesanya sends UFC fans into frenzy by teasing next fight announcement on Instagram

Jordan Ellis — Fri, 24 Nov 2023 10:41:46 +0000

UFC fans are not sure what to make of Israel Adesanya’s latest social media post.

On Friday morning, ‘The Last Stylebender’ shared a mock poster promoting UFC 298 – an event Alex Volkanovski is expected to headline against Ilia Topuria at the Honda Center in California on February 17.

Adesanya suggested he would headline UFC 298

@stylebender - Instagram

However, in Adesanya’s version of the poster, the featherweight champion had been demoted to the co-main event as his trilogy fight with light heavyweight king Alex Pereira took top spot.

The two-time middleweight titleholder used the post, which has been liked by more than 198,000 people, to promote a sportswear company and its Black Friday sale.

“He captioned it: “Engage. COME GET SUMM!!!!!!”

Fight fans instantly flooded Adesanya’s comment section to try to figure out if he is really booked to face his old kickboxing rival again.

One person commented: “Are my eyes deceiving me at the top right?”

Another said: “What does this mean? WHAT DOES THIS MEAN??”

A third person added: “Trolling… but damn don’t do that, don’t give me hope.”

Someone else wrote: “Wait wth?! Bro am I not reading this correctly?”

Not everyone believed him because the post included a promotion

@stylebender - Instagram

‘Stylebender’ appeared to confirm he was trolling with a follow-up post

@stylebender - instagram

Others instantly dismissed Adesanya’s post as a viral marketing campaign, like the one Snoop Dogg ran after convincing the world he’d ended his lifelong relationship with marijuana.

One switched-on fan insisted: “This is next level marketing like that one Snoop Dogg Post.”

Another said: “After Snoop Doggs “no smoke” marketing stunt, I’m not believing anything else.”

Adesanya, who previously claimed he would be taking time away from MMA after losing to Sean Strickland, soon confirmed he was just trolling by posting a picture of himself and Volkanovski alongside the word ‘Sike’.

Adesanya picked up his first win over Pereira in April

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The 34-year-old knocked out Pereira when they fought at UFC 287 in April but had previously suffered three defeats – one in MMA and two in kickboxing – against the Brazilian KO artist.

After stopping Jiri Prochazka to win the vacant 205lb belt at UFC 295 earlier this month, Pereira called out Adesanya during his epic ‘Come to Daddy’ post-fight speech.

So, although they won’t fight again at UFC 298, Adesanya could soon be sharing a real poster as another scrap between the two men seems inevitable.

Due to Adesanya’s recent troll job, MMA fans may wait for UFC CEO Dana White to make another fight with Pereira official before they get too excited.

Dana White sticks to his word and bins off Peloton bikes after UFC sponsorship rant

Phil Spencer — Thu, 23 Nov 2023 15:18:09 +0000

Dana White has kept his word by getting rid of any Peloton bikes from his UFC gyms.

The UFC boss took issue with the exercise technology brand during his appearance on comedian Theo Von’s ‘This Past Weekend’ podcast.

Dana White shared a video to confirm that he’d got rid of the Peloton bikes

X: @MyMMANews

White then blasted the fitness bike company after comedian Von revealed the company reportedly pulled ads on his podcast with Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

“Peloton, what do they sell, f***ing stationary bikes?” White said in the expletive-laden tirade.

“Peloton sells stationary bikes, and they’ve got a problem with Robert f***ing Kennedy.”

“F*** you Peloton! Who the f*** are they? Are you f***ing kidding me?” he continued.

“”F***ing Peloton, calling, b****ing about Robert Kennedy.”

White then said that he wanted his UFC gyms to remove all its Peloton bikes.

“We’re getting rid of the Pelotons,” he said. “Pelotons are out of the gym.”

A Peloton spokesperson disputed the claim and told Fox News Digital that the company asked for its ads to be pulled from the 2021 episode featuring Kennedy due to the company’s ‘brand safety guidelines’.

White went on an expletive-laden tirade at Peloton during a recent podcast experience

He also spoke about how his friendship with Donald Trump had cost him sponsorship deals in the past

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But based on his Instagram stories, it didn’t stop White from keeping his word.

In the new video, White said: “So people are hitting me up asking if I really got rid of the Pelotons.

“What did I tell you? Only Assault Bikes for me here – the Pelotons are gone!”

White’s appearance on Von’s podcast also saw him discuss his own experience with sponsors, with one taking issue with his friendship with Donald Trump.

He explained: “I posted a video for Trump on my personal social media.

“One of our big sponsors called and said, ‘Take that down.’ You know what I said? Go f*** yourself.

“You vote for whoever you want to vote for and I’ll vote for whoever I want to vote for. That’s how this works. I don’t even care who you’re voting for. It’s none of my f***ing business. F*** you. Don’t ever f***ing call me and tell me who to vote for.”

I suffered famous KO in failed UFC run – now I’m fighting for a world title and $1 million

Jordan Ellis — Thu, 23 Nov 2023 13:45:00 +0000

Impa Kasangany hopes to finally live down his most famous loss by becoming a world champion and winning $1 million at PFL 10.

Most fans will recognise the 29-year-old as the unlucky fighter who got knocked out cold by Joaquin Buckley’s jumping spinning back kick in October 2020.

Buckley scored one of the greatest knockouts in UFC history in 2020

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The shot impressed UFC CEO Dana White, former US president Donald Trump, rapper Kanye West and literally every MMA fan – it also changed Buckley’s life forever.

However, the man on the receiving end of one of MMA’s most vicious KOs ended up on a downward spiral and he was cut by the UFC – but that didn’t deter him.

“When I got knocked out by Buckley, I don’t remember what happened,” Kasanganay told MMA Junkie at a PFL media day last month.

“I was just like, ‘What happened? What happened?’ But once I got in the ambulance, my dad was like, ‘Go look at your phone.’

“I watched it, and I was like, ‘Ok, good shot.’ But I came into MMA to become a champion. If that’s the route for me to become a champion, then that’s it.

“I didn’t know then why that happened. I didn’t pray for that to happen, trust me, I didn’t. I was like, ‘OK, cool. How do I rise from this?’

“My dad always told me, ‘In order to know your glory, they first need to understand your story.’

“When people ask me about it, I say, ‘Play that highlight as much as you want. It’s great, credit to him. But the day that I’m champion, play that highlight too.’”

It’s a loss that still haunts Kasanganay

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Despite that, he’s on the brink of achieving greatness

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Kasanganay is just one win away from realising his world-champion dream.

The American fighter, who is the son of Congolese immigrants, has revived his career by winning five consecutive fights under the PFL banner.

On Friday, at the PFL World Championships in Washington, he’ll face 12-1 fighter Josh Silveira in the 2023 light heavyweight final the winner will walk away with a new belt and a massive cheque.

Kasanganay, who will no doubt tell you the belt is more important the prize money, now views his failed UFC run as a blessing in disguise.

A win over Silveira will make him a millionaire

@jmdasilv - instagram

He added: “Thank God UFC cut me.”

“It was challenging to get fights there, all my friends were doing well there, great. All the people in the people who I knew in the organization, I love people there too, so nothing against them.

“I’m just happy for me because who knows when I would’ve gotten that $1 million fight or more or less or close to it.

“It’s also [good] too because you get to share that with your coaches and your team and the people who helped you get there and who knows what kind of percentage I get to share with them.

“It’s the overall bigger picture. Man, I’m very, very happy. I enjoyed my time there, and it helped me get better. I’m very, very happy I’m not there anymore.

“Nothing against them, but I’m just glad I’m at PFL.”

All that’s left is to complete that Cinderella story.

Inside Tony Ferguson’s brutal training for Paddy Pimblett fight that includes Navy Seal David Goggins’ gruelling ‘Hell Week’

Joshua Rogers — Thu, 23 Nov 2023 12:30:00 +0000

Tony Ferguson is leaving nothing to chance ahead of his fight with Paddy ‘the Baddy’ Pimblett.

‘El Cucy’ faces the Liverpudlian on December 17 at UFC 296 on the back of a six-fight losing streak dating back to 2019. Desperate to get back amongst the wins, Ferguson has enlisted the help of one of the toughest men on the planet.

The UFC lightweight sought out the training of one of the world’s hardest men

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Ferguson put himself through Goggins’ “Hell Week” in order to arrest his six-fight skid

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David Goggins is a former Navy SEAL, ultramarathon runner and bestselling author whose self-help memoirs ‘Can’t Hurt Me’ and ‘Never Finished’ have sold millions of copies.

The 48-year-old American has amassed a huge following on social media, especially on Instagram where he often encourages his 9m followers to ‘get after it’ while working out and running hundreds of miles.

Ferguson, the former UFC interim lightweight champion, has recently teamed up with Goggins in a bid to revive his career. The 39-year-old’s last win inside the octagon came against Donald Cerrone in 2019, and in the years since he has lost to Justin Gaethje, Bobby Green and Nate Diaz.

HELL WEEK

In order to prepare him for his bout against Pimblett, Goggins has pushed Ferguson to his mental and physical limits in a brutal training regime known as “Hell Week”.

Hell Week – which Goggins has done three of – is performed by US Navy SEALS as part of their training and requires them to perform physical challenges for over 20 hours a day.

Day 1 of Ferguson’s Hell Week started on November 7th and involved the 155lber completing more than three hours of gruelling high-intensity cardio, over 600 push-ups, and tons of chest exercises, bike, and rowing work.

Goggins shared a video montage of Ferguson’s first day in Hell Week which included the fighter throwing up into a toilet bowl out of sheer exhaustion.

The ex-military man’s next video with Ferguson featured the pair doing one mile of walking lunges. Goggins shared that they’d been doing the exercise for over 53 minutes.

The pair completed hours of training including one mile lunges, jumping jacks and press ups

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Ferguson through up a number of times during the brutal training regime

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“Some people have no idea of the time required to be a champion! They have the math all wrong”, Goggins wrote. “If you are fighting for 15 minutes, you have to put in thousands of hours in training, practising, studying the craft and your opponent, etc.

“Training the mind requires countless hours. You need to find those things that put your mind in the hurt locker.

“You have to be willing to push yourself to the limit and once you reach that limit, that is when your training begins.”

Day 3 of Hell Week saw the duo hit the treadmill.

TIME TO THROW UP

“This is where you win!” Goggins, who was on the machine next to Ferguson, exclaimed.

“This ain’t no f***ing game!” the social media personality yelled at the camera before it panned to Ferguson who was gasping for air and dripping with sweat while running.

Ferguson can be heard huffing and puffing and crying out in pain before jumping off the treadmill to throw up in a bag next to him.

“Many of you will not understand what I am putting Tony through right now but when a man like Tony is looking for more, it forces him to go deep into the dungeon because my job is to make him find every bit of himself and then some,” Goggins captioned the post.

“And he is doing just that!!! He has an unbelievable resolve, ability and willingness to suffer. This speaks to his character. This is not for the weak.”

Ferguson’s conditioning should be elite heading into his fight with Paddy ‘the Baddy’ Pimblett

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The former Navy SEAL was right alongside Tony all week doing the exact same workout

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The next update included Goggins letting everyone know they’d already started the day off with jumping jack push-ups, which is ten, four count jumping jacks followed by ten push-ups for 45 minutes non-stop.

They then got into walking lunges as Goggins recounted the previous day’s work.

“Stair climber, treadmill, high incline, assault bike, and repeat that over again,” he said. “Then at night time, we did a full leg workout.”

BARELY ABLE TO WALK

“Neither one of us could barely walk after the workouts we put ourselves through yesterday and yet we upped it another notch today,” he wrote accompanying the post.

“I knew that even though our legs were so f***ed up today that we could do the same workout again, and even more, despite feeling worse…and we did!”

Day four of Hell Week saw Tony going through the ringer on the assault bike, which is often used for high-intensity interval training (HIIT) workouts.

Ferguson looked visibly shattered on the bike next to Goggins as he squeezed out every last drop of effort.

The UFC star moaned and groaned as Goggins fired him up from the bike across from him.

The former interim champion was dripping with sweat after he got after it on the treadmill

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He carried on working out despite having to stop to vomit

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“Ahh s***!”, Ferguson exclaimed repeatedly as Goggins laughed, appearing to take great pleasure from his trainee’s pain.

“When you train a person like Tony, you have to find their limit and once you find it, that is when you have to push them way beyond it.” Goggins commented. “The challenge with Tony is that his limit is way the f*** out there because of his ability to handle so much pain.

GET AFTER IT

“What you are seeing in this video is a man that has been through four days of a no-s*** hell week. This isn’t like a football two-a-days or some wrestling camp bull****.

“There is a lesson to be learned here. He’s comfortable with you all seeing what he is going through because this is the exact kind of dedication it takes to reach greatness. Hard work is never pretty!”

Hell Week eventually came to an end with Goggins congratulating Ferguson for being the first person to ever successfully complete one of his infamous Hell Week’s without quitting.

“Tony finished Hell Week today,” Goggins wrote in an Instagram video of the week’s tasks. “I have had many people try yet he is the first one to get through it.

” I have had a lot of great athletes over the years want to train with me but for one reason or another, ‘something’
always miraculously comes up so they can’t complete it.

“I broke El Cucuy on Day One, or at least I thought I did. I had him deep in the hurt locker and figured the questions were soon to be coming. I told Kish [Goggins wife] late that night ‘this motherf***** is done!’

“But, I was wrong. He woke up on Day Two even more fired up to go. There was never a question asked. His response was always the same, ‘OK, Coach.’

“I was there for the rebirth of El Cucuy.

“It happened somewhere on the Jacob’s Ladder at around 11:11pm. I knew then that the torture I was putting him through was no longer torture.

“A lot of people ask me if I think he will win his next fight- I don’t have the first damn clue about that. That’s up to Tony. What I do know is that the man who walks into the octagon on December 16th will be a deeply changed man.

“Sometimes when the fight is near, the warrior must go back home because home is where the hell began.

“My friends, Tony is home! Hello darkness my old friend.”

I’m a 6ft 8in heavyweight who earned $1million title shot and impressed Jon Jones with brutal KO – now I want to fight Francis Ngannou

Jordan Ellis — Thu, 23 Nov 2023 11:00:00 +0000

Renan Ferreira could be the man who welcomes Francis Ngannou to PFL in 2024 – but first, he’s got the chance to win $1million and a world title.

The 6ft 8inch Brazilian is set to face Denis Goltsov at the PFL World Championships in Washington on Friday night after scoring two consecutive knockout wins.

Ferreira is coming off a highlight-reel KO

Cooper Neill / PFL

Ferreira, who previously worked as a private security guard and in construction before pursuing MMA full-time, even impressed UFC legend Jon Jones with his last win.

‘Bones’ was in the opposing corner when the 33-year-old squared off against Maurice Greene at PFL 8: 2023 Playoffs back in August.

Ferreira closed the show in emphatic fashion inside round one.

The man aptly nicknamed ‘Problema’ dropped Greene with a massive right hand as he rushed in trying to land his own shots and book a place in the lucrative PFL final.

Ferreira immediately followed up with a monstrous hammerfist, similar to the one Dan Henderson famously landed on Michael Bisping at UFC 100 in 2009, to put his opponent out cold.

Another followed before the referee stepped in to call things off and trigger wild celebrations from those inside The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York.

The 11-3 heavyweight let out a roar before making his way over to Jones who immediately showed respect by giving him a fist bump through the cage.

UFC CEO Dana White recently ruled out co-promoting with PFL, so a fight between Ferreira and Jones is unlikely to happen – but that doesn’t mean the giant KO aritst is short of big-name opponents.

Jones was in the corner but couldn’t help his pal

@TheCrochetBoss - Instagram

‘Problema’ made his way over to Jones after KO’ing Greene

ESPN MMA - YouTube

Former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou inked a deal to fight for PFL in May before giving Tyson Fury all he could handle during his 10-round boxing debut last month.

After a landmark merger between the UFC’s biggest rivals – PFL and Bellator – was announced earlier this week, it was revealed Ngannou will debut for his new promotion next year.

Ideally, he’ll face Deontay Wilder in a mixed-rules fight, but if the ‘The Bronze Bomber’ is unavailable for any reason, the reigning PFL heavyweight champion seems like the most likely alternative opponent.

Ferreira is sure to call out Ngannou if he’s victorious this weekend.

Ngannou has a target on his back after his recent boxing debut

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Goltsov is also hoping to secure a shot at ‘The Predator’

@denis_goltsov - instagram

“I feel like this is almost a make-it-or-break-it moment,” Ferreira told MMA Junkie through an interpreter at a PFL media day last month.

“It’s tough to even say this because there’s so much on the line between the belt and the million dollars, but there really is more on the line when you talk about future opportunities and the opportunity to fight a guy like Francis after this.”

“It’s definitely a fan favourite (fight). It’s two tough guys that swing big, that have a lot of knockout power, two exciting heavyweights.

“I feel like this is the kind of stuff that fans of the sport want to tune in and watch.”

Ferreira’s clearly got big plans, but overcoming Goltsov won’t be easy.

The Russian has finished four of the five opponents he’s beaten during his ongoing win streak and will be targeting a fight with Ngannou himself.

With a $1million prize on the line, the PFL’s final show of the year is always eagerly anticipated, but the stakes have been raised after Ngannou’s addition to their rapidly-improving roster.

Gilbert Burns backs Paddy Pimblett to win at UFC 296 after recent training session – even though Tony Ferguson has hired David Goggins

Jordan Ellis — Wed, 22 Nov 2023 16:00:18 +0000

Top welterweight contender Gilbert Burns is backing Paddy Pimblett to pick up the biggest win of his career at UFC 296.

The 28-year-old faces a huge step up in opposition when he takes on former interim lightweight champion Tony Ferguson at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on December 16.

Pimblett is 4-0 in the UFC but hasn’t fought since picking up a controversial win last December

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Burns, who is hoping to face whoever wins when 170lb champion Leon Edwards fights Colby Covington on the same card, recently spent some time in Pimblett’s city.

After watching Liverpool score two late goals to beat Everton at Anfield, the Brazilian was invited to Next Generation MMA and left the gym pleasantly surprised by its biggest star.

“I had a great time in Liverpool,” Burns told talkSPORT.com at a Monster Energy fan event in New York earlier this month.

“Stake, my sponsor, brought me there to watch the Everton game against Liverpool.

“It was a great game. It was a great time that night. I ended up talking to Molly [McCann] and then the next day I went to training.

“Paddy is very good. I think just because of his personality and because he got so famous people hate on him, but he’s legit, he’s very good.”

The already interesting crossroads fight between a faded legend and rising contender recently got even more compelling when Ferguson linked up with former Navy SEAL and ultramarathon runner, David Goggins.

Goggins, a bestselling author and social media personality with over nine million followers on Instagram, shared videos of himself putting Ferguson through the wringer ahead of UFC 296.

‘The Baddy’ got to train with Burns ahead of UFC 296

@theufcbaddy - instagram

Ferguson has taken a different approach to what could be his final UFC fight

Despite the brutal schedule, Ferguson became the first person to successfully complete a Goggins “Hell Week” without quitting.

Burns added: “I just saw Tony Ferguson is training with David Goggins for this fight, which makes it even more entertaining.

“Paddy is for real. Paddy has legit wrestling, legit jiu-jitsu is getting better on the striking and I’m a fan. I like the guy; he treated me super good and I’m looking forward to his next fight.”

Burns knows the task that faces Pimblett but is backing the popular scouser to emerge victorious and set himself up for a run at the lightweight rankings in 2024.

“Tough fight,” he said when asked for his final prediction.

“I think he can [beat Ferguson]. It’s a close fight but I think he can.”

Dana White’s life coach tells Joe Rogan how he saved UFC chief from ‘death in ten years’ before dramatic body transformation

Jordan Ellis — Wed, 22 Nov 2023 12:12:04 +0000

Gary Brecka, the man Dana White credits with saving his life, has revealed the role he played in the UFC CEO’s epic body transformation.

White shocked the internet in 2022 when he revealed his ripped physique after undergoing a 10-week body transformation with the help of Brecka.

White is delighted with how far he’s come in six years

@danawhite - instagram

The 54-year-old was inspired to change his life after facing multiple health issues and discovering he apparently only had 10 years left to live.

Brecka believes putting a number on White’s life expectancy was the thing that initially convinced him to take drastic action.

“I think giving him a life expectancy just kind of validated it for him,” he told Joe Rogan during a recent appearance on the JRE podcast.

“It just really put it in his face. That’s something you can calculate.

“He’s like, ‘Okay, I’m 53 now. 63 doesn’t seem that far off.’”

White’s health issues were bigger than simply carrying a bit of extra weight.

The MMA mogul was dealing with seriously high blood pressure, which can lead to heart disease, heart attacks, strokes, and many more potentially life-threatening ailments.

Brecka immediately prescribed him a bunch of medications to combat it – but they didn’t seem to help White overcome the issue.

The UFC boss talks up his life coach whenever he gets the chance

@garybrecka - instagram

He said: “Beta blockers, calcium channel blockers, diuretics, all of these things. [Dana White’s] blood pressure was still through the roof.”

“I think it was 160 over 110. I want to say it was very high, and it was consistently high.

“Our clinical team was taking his blood pressure two or three times a day, seven days a week, and it was consistently very elevated, even though he was on blood pressure medication.”

The human biologist changed his approach to White after concluding he had been misdiagnosed by doctors 15 years ago.

“In Dana White’s case, he was diagnosed with idiopathic hypertension, which he essentially did not have,” Brecka added.

“He was being medicated for it, he had been medicated for it for fifteen years. He didn’t really have hypertension, there was nothing really wrong with him.

“It’s that his body couldn’t break down homocysteine. It was deficient in the amino acids needed to break this homocysteine down.”

Once Brecka figured that out, things changed and the results quickly began speaking for themselves as the UFC chief dropped 30lbs and felt better than ever.

White recently showed off the result of his 86-hour water fast

X- danawhite

He concluded: “I should have brought the numbers because I had the week-over-week numbers, it was astounding.

“We just put him on a simple amino acid called Trimethylglycine, an amino acid you can get off the shelf. What it did was make up for this genetic deficiency.

“This lack of code to break down homocysteine. His body started to methylate to break homocysteine down.”

White continues to lean on Brecka for health advice and he recently completed an 86-hour water fast before showing off the shockingly impressive results to his followers.

Whatever they are doing together seems to be working as White is in phenomenal shape and claims to have cured his sleep apnea, and leg pain.

Dana White gifted brand-new BMW days after £400,000 present from ‘f***ing lunatics’ at casino

Jordan Ellis — Wed, 22 Nov 2023 10:57:01 +0000

UFC CEO Dana White had a better weekend than most people.

After years of working to make the UFC a mainstream sports promotion, White is believed to have amassed a $500million (£400m) fortune, but he doesn’t need to spend any of it because his new friends are extremely generous.

White’s weekend started with a cash gift

@danawhite - instagram

The MMA mogul recently revealed online influencer Razzaqlocks gifted him a brand new 2024 BMW 7 Series Sedan – a luxury car worth around $97,000.

“What a crazy a** weekend,” White said on his Instagram story.

“There’s a kid named Razz. You see him doing a lot of prize-picks stuff.

“Shows up here. He buys me a 2024 BMW 760 XI. And just to give you an idea of what this car does, all you gotta do is push a button, and then the doors open.

“The entire car is exactly like this. Everything you do is push buttons.

“These kids are awesome. It’s pretty f***ing crazy when you’ve got 21-year-old kids buying you cards.”

Razz’s extravagant gift comes just days after White left a Las Vegas casino with $500,000 (£400k) thanks to the kindness of podcasters SteveWillDoIt and Taylor Lewan.

“I’m here at Red Rocks [casino] right now, it’s f***ing 2:30 in the morning or whatever,” White explained in a previous video shared on his Instagram story.

The UFC chief gave fans a glimpse inside his new car

@danawhite - instagram

“Formula 1 just ended, I’m here with Taylor Lewan from ‘Bussin with the Boys’ on Barstool and Steve Will Do It from the Nelk Boys.

“These two just won a half a million dollars, these are $25,000 (£20,000) chips.

“Half a million dollars and gave it to me. They are f***ing lunatics.”

“It started with $10,000. These two started with $10,000 and went on a mission to win me a half a million dollars and they did it! It’s f***ing unbelievable.

“Any of you that really actually gamble, the odds of winning half a million dollars off ten thousand dollars? It’s gotta be a million to one. It’s f***ing impossible. Literally impossible. They did it.”

In 2021, SteveWillDoIt – real name Stephen Deleonardis – surprised the UFC boss with a customised $300,000 (£240,327) Maybach van.

A few months later, White returned the favour – and caused controversy in the process – by gifting Steve’s fellow Nelk Boy Kyle Forgeard $250,000 (£200,272) in cash for his birthday.

Only time will tell how he will make things even with his trio of pals after they made one of the wealthiest men in combat sports a little bit richer during one ‘crazy weekend.’

Conor McGregor releases Akon diss track after getting copyright claim for singing ‘Locked Up’ on social media

Jordan Ellis — Tue, 21 Nov 2023 16:50:31 +0000

Conor McGregor has been temporarily banned from X – formerly known as Twitter – after getting a copyright claim from Akon.

On Monday evening, the former dual-weight UFC champion shared a voice note with his 10.2 million followers and it featured him singing one of Akon’s most famous songs.

McGregor’s X voice notes are legendary

@TheNotoriousMMA - instagram

McGregor swiftly deleted his version of ‘Locked Up’, which charted at no.5 in the UK when it was released almost 20 years ago, but not before the R&B singer got wind of his post.

The following day, ‘Notorious’ took to his Instagram story to reveal that his late-night karaoke session had gotten him into a spot of bother.

McGregor shared a screenshot showing he has been locked out of his X account after Akon – or someone from his team – filed a copyright claim.

It read: “Your account has been locked because X received a compliant Digital Millennium Copyright Act (“DMCA” notice for content posted to your X account).”

He captioned the since-deleted post: “Akon not happy hahaha.”

In a subsequent story, ‘Mystic Mac’ promised to release a ‘diss track’ in response and quickly delivered as he shared a video of him rapping at the Senegalese-American hitmaker.

“Akon, what’s wrong? I was only signing the song. It wasn’t even that long. You need to take a chill pill or a hit of the bong,” McGregor began.

“Song’s out years, Donkey Kong. In the back of the ranch, they weren’t expecting me own little song. Little rapper from the flat, his name was Panch.”

His latest one appeared to upset Akon

@TheNotoriousMMA - instagram

Locked Up was the first single Akon ever released

@akon - instagram

By this point, it became blatantly obvious McGregor was freestyling as the pauses between his bars became longer and had nothing to do with anything he’d previously said.

He added: “We used to be poor, but the Proper 12 come along and got us out the sewer.

“Not long, we like to spoil ourselves, Louis [Vuitton] off the shelf.

“New t***, new a***, new teeth – haters go to hell.”

It takes more than a copyright strike to silence McGregor

@TheNotoriousMMA - instagram

The clip cuts out just as McGregor begins rapping about his famous whiskey again.

Fans didn’t get to hear the end of his song and he quickly took down the snippet he had already uploaded before many even knew it existed.

Akon is yet to react to the fact he’s found himself in an unlikely beef with one of the most ruthless knockout artists in combat sports.

If McGregor’s UFC comeback doesn’t work out, the Irishman may have a future in the entertainment business after showing off his acting and singing skills in 2023.

‘Take it easy’ – Footage shows Michael Bisping intervening as son gets carried away during MMA sparring session

Jordan Ellis — Tue, 21 Nov 2023 14:30:07 +0000

UFC legend Michael Bisping struggled to watch his son’s recent sparring session.

On Monday, the former middleweight champion, who is known for being one of the toughest combat sports stars of all time, shared footage of his 13-year-old trading blows with another MMA student.

Bisping has been teaching his son about striking

Michael Bisping - Facebook

Lucas Bisping – the youngest of the UFC icon’s three children – looked like a chip off the old block as he landed combinations on his gun-shy opponent.

However, the video cuts off after just 26 seconds as ‘The Count’, who was filming the sparring session, told Lucas to ‘take it easy’ when he threw a heavy high kick.

Bisping captioned the video he shared to X – formerly known as Twitter: “Little snippet of Lucas training tonight.”

It wasn’t long before his comment section was flooded with praise for Lucas, who first became known to MMA fans when he hilariously and incorrectly predicted his dad would lose to Luke Rockhold in 2016.

One person commented: “Future champ.”

Another said: “The kid is a natural.”

A third person tweeted: “Boy got some power in those kicks Mike. Teaching him well.”

UFC featherweight Cub Swanson commented: “Looking good.”

All the practice is clearly paying off

@bisping - X

Bisping attempted to rein in his son during the spar

@bisping - X

Others picked up on Bisping’s growing concern as the spar went on.

One person replied: “Take it easy Lucas… just as it cuts off haha.”

Another pointed out: “Bisping telling his son to take it easy because he’s clearly doing better than the other kid.”

Last year, Lucas gave the world a glimpse of his fighting potential when he locked his father in a rear-naked choke and almost put him to sleep during a live podcast.

Bisping’s sons have caught the MMA bug

Michael Bisping - YouTube

Both of Bisping’s sons are showing an interest in fighting

Michael Bisping - Facebook

The teenager is not the only Bisping kid with the potential to follow in the UFC Hall of Famer’s footsteps – many expect his eldest son to crossover to MMA at some point.

Callum Bisping is currently studying at San Francisco State University where he competes as a wrestler in NCAA Division 2 – he has also won several Brazilian jiu-jitsu tournaments.

It appears Bisping will have to get used to sitting back and watching his sons compete, rather than doing it himself, after calling time on his epic career in 2018.

Jake Paul’s MMA debut date revealed by PFL Chairman who extends improved £12million rematch offer to UFC legend Nate Diaz

Jordan Ellis — Tue, 21 Nov 2023 12:01:06 +0000

Jake Paul will make his mixed martial arts debut before the end of 2024, according to Professional Fighters League [PFL] Chairman Donn Davis.

The YouTuber-turned-boxer signed a deal to fight under MMA rules for PFL earlier this year, but he has since been fixated on becoming a world champion in the squared circle.

Paul has a record of 7-1, his only defeat coming against Tommy Fury in February

Getty

Paul will continue his boxing career when he takes on little-known American professional Andre August, who is 10-1-1, at the Caribe Royale Resort in Orlando, Florida on December 15.

Potential fights with Tommy Fury and KSI appear to be lined up for after that, even though Davis insists the 26-year-old is currently training to change sports.

The man who recently merged his promotion with Bellator expects Paul to debut in MMA for his company during the final few months of next year against a yet-to-be-named opponent.

“Jake was always Q4,” Davis told The MMA Hour on Monday.

“For him to get good, in his standards, for an MMA fight that is legitimate, he says he needs that year.

“He started training a month ago in the Smart Cage down in his home.

“I think that is October-December 2024.”

Paul has made no secret about who he wants to face in his first MMA outing.

Davis recently impressed talkSPORT’s White & Jordan with his PFL plan

talkSPORT

‘The Problem Child’ was his first marquee signing, Francis Ngannou followed soon after

PFL

‘The Problem Child’ beat UFC legend Nate Diaz in boxing earlier this year before immediately calling for a rematch under a different ruleset.

Conor McGregor’s long-time rival has repeatedly distanced himself from fighting Paul in PFL, despite the fact a $10million (£8m) purse has been promised.

Davis isn’t giving up on Paul vs Diaz 2 and he has now upped his offer to the MMA fan favourite to $15m (£12m), which will be the highest payday he’s received during his 35-fight career.

He added: “We are offering him more money than other people because that’s respect.

Diaz gave fans a glimpse of how an MMA fight between him and Paul would play out in August

Esther Lin/Most Valuable Promotions

“I’m just trying a canvas that we are open for business… Here’s $15million, here’s Jake, we have all the infrastructure at PFL, and we’re easy to work with.’ Dink. The light’s on.”

Diaz is yet to respond to Davis’s new proposal, but with Paul’s MMA debut still a year away, the two men have plenty of time to thrash out a deal.

If they can’t come to an agreement, Dillon Danis is a free agent and waiting in the wings to settle his beef with Jake after recently sharing the ring with his brother, Logan Paul.

Tai Emery still gets thanked for starting flashing celebration trend – ‘That’s my Statue of Liberty’

Cameron Temple — Tue, 21 Nov 2023 10:52:13 +0000

Tai Emery has described her infamous flashing celebration as her ‘Statue of Liberty’ moment.

After winning her debut bare knuckle boxing fight by stunning knockout, Emery surprised everyone in he arena when she flashed her chest to the crowd in celebration.

Tai Emery went viral following her BKFC debut win

This moment went viral and it has since started a wave of other sports stars doing the same celebration, including most notably influencer boxer Daniella Hemsley.

“I get so many good laughs and I still get tagged in any girl that’s done it,” Emery told talkSPORT.

“I think there was two twins in Russia and then there was two people who kissed, I got tagged in that as well and certain things Ebanie [Bridges] does I get tagged in that too and then obviously Daniella Hemsley.

“But, I think the best thing is the humour that comes around it, people joke ‘God bless you Tai’ and I think that’s funny.

“It was just one moment over a year ago and people are still having a joke saying, ‘Thank you Tai, God bless you, you’ve started a wave, may there be more t***ies’ there’s nothing wrong with that.”

As well as enjoying people’s reaction from a humour standpoint, Emery also believes the moment had a positive effect in terms of empowering women to be able to do what they want with their bodies.

“If that’s the legacy and I get to make people laugh and also give encouragement to women to be able to have ownership of their bodies,” Emery said.

“And I think right now jokes aside I think we can really see there is such a difference in women power and what men can do and what women can’t do and can do.

“So, I think even if in some small way it’s edging this boundary, because people can call you nasty names and then they can really go through my resume and they start to see this person is actually intelligent, this person did a man’s occupation, she was an electrician, they can’t even fathom who I am as a person just because of those things and then linking it to a boob viral flash moment.”

Emery continued: “I think it’s a legacy to be honest, that’s my Statue of Liberty whether I do still love it or not, whether other people love it or not.

“It’s still a Statue of Liberty moment, it’s still a free the t***ies moment and to be honest there is something freeing about it.”

As for Emery’s next bout, she has nothing lined up for the time being, but the Aussie revealed that she has been exploring a number of promotions and she could even be interested in getting into influencer boxing with KSI‘s promotional company, Misfits Boxing.

‘It’ll be mixed rules’ – Deontay Wilder expected to welcome Francis Ngannou to PFL in 2024

Jordan Ellis — Tue, 21 Nov 2023 10:40:07 +0000

Deontay Wilder could face Francis Ngannou in a hybrid-rules fight next year, according to Professional Fighters League [PFL] Chairman Donn Davis.

On Monday, the Saudi-backed PFL announced its acquisition of rival MMA promotion Bellator in a landmark deal following 11 months of intense negotiations and rumours.

PFL and Bellator are the UFC’s biggest rivals

PFL

Later that same day, Davis revealed exactly what the merger meant for his company, MMA as a whole and the former UFC heavyweight champion whom he signed in May.

Despite the fact that Ngannou is now a ranked heavyweight boxer after dropping Tyson Fury in his debut, Davis insists ‘The Predator’ will fight for his company in 2024.

In an ideal world, Wilder will welcome him to the PFL Smart Cage even though he’s never trained in MMA and hopes to book a mega-money boxing match with Anthony Joshua if he beats Joseph Parker on December 23.

“We don’t know, other than he will fight with PFL in 2024,” Davis told The MMA Hour when asked for an update on Ngannou’s promotional debut.

“We don’t know if it’s the first or last quarter. I still think it will be a mixed-rules fight, and I still think Deontay Wilder is the most likely opponent.

“That would be unbelievable! I think the second and third options are much less compelling, so we don’t want to force them options in order to get into Q1.

“We’re listening to Francis and he’s sequencing his options. He has a great boxing option and this great crossover option.

“What works for him in 2024, what works for the opponents, and putting it together – that’s what we are working with him on right now.”

Davis co-founded PFL in 2018

@DonnDavisPFL - Twitter

He wants to bring two of the biggest combat sports stars together for a fight

@three30_3 - Twitter

Davis made these comments just weeks after Wilder expressed an interest in crossing over to MMA and caught the attention of UFC CEO Dana White in the process.

Ngannou’s next fight may be in the boxing ring, but he’s still firmly tied to PFL and made that much clearer by quickly reacting to their groundbreaking deal with Bellator.

He tweeted: “Game changers.

“Congratulations on a game-changing announcement in the MMA space. The opportunities for PFL & Bellator athletes under this banner are endless.”

Although both men seem interested, only time will tell if Davis gets his wish and fight fans get to see Ngannou and Wilder clash under the PFL banner.

Conor McGregor net worth: UFC superstar targeting Michael Jordan’s spot on athletes rich list ahead of long-awaited return

Jordan Ellis — Tue, 21 Nov 2023 10:17:00 +0000

Conor McGregor plans to replace basketball legend Michael Jordan as the richest sporting star.

Since debuting in the UFC a decade ago, ‘Notorious’ has become the biggest name in MMA history and made an extraordinary amount of money.

McGregor is the biggest star in MMA history

Zuffa LLC via Getty

The former dual-weight champion makes tens of millions for his fights and famously pocketed $100million for a crossover bout with boxing legend Floyd Mayweather in 2017.

However, he has not set foot in the octagon for two years, meaning he has missed out on some huge paychecks.

So ahead of his long-awaited return, talkSPORT.com takes a look at McGregor’s net worth…

Conor McGregor net worth

Conor McGregor’s net worth is estimated to be around £200million.

However, ‘Notorious’ claims he has made closer to £600million in total throughout his career.

In 2021, McGregor topped Forbes’s list of rich athletes thanks to selling his wildly successful whiskey business to Proximo Spirits for $600million.

However, due to an injury, he suffered at UFC 264 in July 2021, the 34-year-old has been unable to cash in through fighting and has slipped to 33 on the same list two years later.

Ahead of his eagerly anticipated comeback, McGregor is determined to become a billionaire and ultimately displace Michael Jordan who is the wealthiest man in sports history, according to a recent Statista study.

‘Notorious’ is quite the businessman

Proper Twelve

Jordan is the richest athlete in history thanks to his prowess on and off the court

Getty

Jordan, who is widely regarded as the greatest basketball player of all time, made around $100m during his 19-year playing career that included six NBA titles, six MVPs in the NBA finals, and 14 inclusions in the league’s All-Star team.

Although the 60-year-old has made most of his money through his Air Jordan collaboration with Nike and is believed to have a net worth of $2 billion.

“It’s motivating, Michael Jordan’s at the top spot, obviously with the Jordan brand that took him there, he’s worth multiple billions,” McGregor said during an interview with broadcaster Megan Olivi.

“I think it’s $3.3billion he’s made.

“I’m closing in on a billion, I think I’m at about $650m all in that I’ve made.

“I think they estimate that, I’d probably have to do my own little check of that, but I fancy my chances of getting up that list.

“It was good to see, that Forbes [richest athletes of the year list] was a goal of mine to hit that, I got that and onwards we go.”

Conor McGregor next fight: All we know about when the Notorious could return with UFC superstar ‘definitely’ fighting in early 2024

Jack Johnson — Tue, 21 Nov 2023 09:26:00 +0000

The saga surrounding Conor McGregor’s return to the UFC continues…

It has been over two years since the superstar broke his leg during his trilogy fight with Dustin Poirier in what was the last time he set foot in the Octagon.

McGregor hasn’t fought since breaking his leg more than two years ago

Getty

However, ‘Notorious’ is now fully fit and has been pursuing a fight with former three-time Bellator lightweight champion Michael Chandler.

McGregor and Chandler have been going back and forth while the bout has been in the works, but there is yet to be an official date set.

That’s due to many ongoing issues with the UFC, USADA, Dana White and more, so talkSPORT.com takes a look at what we know…

Conor McGregor next fight: Is his opponent confirmed?

McGregor vs Chandler is likely to happen, with the Irishman’s opponent for his long-awaited return to the UFC booked in.

Confirming who he will be fighting on his comeback in October, Notorious told All Out Fighting: “Yes, it has to be [Chandler].

“The Mac will be here soon. [I’m] en route. En route, son. En route.

“It’s imminent. It’s imminent.”

The pair have also filmed a series of The Ultimate Fighter together ahead of their proposed clash.

McGregor and Chandler have been going back and forth

Conor McGregor next fight: When will it happen?

The pair were tipped to take the Octagon before the end of the year but the headline slot on the final event of 2023 has already gone to Leon Edwards vs Colby Covington.

This date was always going to be unlikely though, due to McGregor only just returning to the UFC’s testing pool, USADA (United States Anti-Doping Agency).

USADA’s rules require fighters who re-enter their testing pool to submit random samples for six months before returning to action.

Therefore this meant McGregor would not be able to fight until April 2024.

The UFC have the power to overrule the six-month testing period if it is deemed unfair on a specific fighter.

But despite Dana White, the UFC’s CEO, pushing for him to return to action imminently, USADA did not allow this to apply for Notorious.

The dispute between McGregor, White and USADA went on for months and hit its final breaking point when it was announced that the partnership with the UFC will end from January 1.

This means that the six-month rule will not have to be honoured from January 1 onwards, with McGregor able to fight at any point from that date.

Therefore, the superstar’s return to the UFC against Chandler is expected to happen sometime in the new year.

A date is still yet to be confirmed but McGregor is confident that there will be a solution to the delay soon…

USADA have delayed McGregor’s comeback

Conor McGregor next fight: What has been said?

McGregor revealed more about the date for his return to the octagon following Tyson Fury vs Francis Ngannou.

He told TNT Sports: “Hopefully April, they’re saying April.

“I’m happy. I would’ve loved December, I would’ve loved it earlier, I would’ve dialled in earlier, but I want to be honest – not just to myself but to my fans and whatnot.

“April’s a lovely run-up for me. I would be happy with that.”

‘Notorious’ then responded to a fan on social media, saying: “I am confident we get the set date.

“There is no one holding no one back. A lot goes on behind the scenes but all involved are working hard to make it happen.”

McGregor’s coach John Cavanagh has also confirmed that the bout will ‘definitely’ be happening in early 2024.

He said: “He’s training very regularly now, he’s very committed.

“We have no date set yet, but within the first half of next year, he’ll definitely have his comeback.

“Conor just wants to fight. If you offered him a fight this Saturday, he’d take it.

“If it’s UFC 300, great! We just wanna get back in there, get busy, and hopefully get a few fights together.”

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PFL continues MMA takeover following Jake Paul and Francis Ngannou signings by buying rival company Bellator

Cameron Temple — Mon, 20 Nov 2023 17:24:25 +0000

The PFL is making serious moves in the MMA world having just acquired rival organisation Bellator.

The combination of the two organisations, after months of speculation, brings them closer to the well-established might of the UFC.

The PFL is now the second biggest MMA organisation

Cooper Neil/PFL

The PFL have said they will continue the Bellator brand and it will be used for ‘one-off’ events.

This comes after the PFL recently took investment from the Saudi Arabian sovereign wealth fund in August.

“PFL is now a global powerhouse in MMA,” said Donn Davis, PFL Founder and Chairman.

“Our Bellator acquisition turbocharges PFL’s mission to innovate the sport and become the industry co-leader.”

Meanwhile PFL CEO, Peter Murray, said: “The combined PFL and Bellator fighter rosters are second to none in MMA.

“We can’t wait to bring MMA fans what they have been asking for – best vs best with the PFL Champions vs Bellator Champions Mega-Event.”

The biggest name in the PFL is former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou, who recently made the move over to boxing where he put in an excellent performance against Tyson Fury, losing a narrow split decision.

Social media influencer turned combat sports star Jake Paul, who reacted to the news, saying: “Massive news, the PFL has acquired Bellator.

“This is insane news for the whole entire industry and it makes PFL even more of a global powerhouse, with a fight roster now equal to that of the UFC.

“And we have some challenges, lets prove it, their champions versus our champions, let’s make it happen.”

This came alongside the caption: “This is a great day for all PFL and Bellator fighters and MMA fans. The stronger we get, the more opportunities there are for everyone.”

Eddie Hall looks jacked in sparring footage ahead of MMA debut in 2024 – and he’s even trained with a UFC champion

Jordan Ellis — Mon, 20 Nov 2023 16:43:32 +0000

Eddie Hall’s first mixed martial arts fight camp is well underway.

Last month, ‘The Beast’ announced he is set to take on Mitchell Hooper, the current World’s Strongest Man, in Qatar next February at an event promoted by Finishers Championship.

Hall is taking his MMA training seriously

@eddiehallwsm - instagram

Now, Hall has given fans a glimpse into his preparation for the bout.

The 35-year-old shared a video of him sparring with various opponents on social media and it showed off his ever-improving boxing ability and recently acquired wrestling skills.

As always, Hall looks jacked and capable of giving anyone trouble in the cage due to his sheer size which helps him master new sports faster than most.

He captioned the post: “Today I signed a contract to fight MMA! February 17th 4 man eliminator against Brian Shaw, Martyn Ford and Mitchell Hopper.

“Training has begun and I’m loving the challenge this has brought to the table.”

In March 2022, Hall got his first taste of combat sports when he took part in an eagerly anticipated boxing match against his former strongman rival Hafthor Bjornsson.

Hall underwent an epic body transformation that saw him drop six stone in weight before he fell to a decision defeat against the man who famously portrayed ‘The Mountain’ in Game of Thrones

Since then, he has bulked up and flirted with the idea of trying his luck as a professional sumo wrestler following a training session with Britain’s best.

‘The Beast’ has already trained with his debut opponent

@eddiehallwsm - instagram

A day with Aspinall will have taken Hall’s game to the next level

Eddie Hall - YouTube

Hall is now fixated on MMA after recently hooking up with a UFC champion.

In the same month Hall announced his debut in a new sport, he released a video to YouTube that showed him getting put through his paces by MMA heavyweight Tom Aspinall.

Of course, he was no match for ‘The Honey Badger’, but Hall did receive grappling tips that will help when it’s time to fight a fellow novice.

Soon after his workout with Hall, Aspinall accepted a short-notice scrap with Sergei Pavlovich at UFC 295 and knocked out the Russian contender to become the interim heavyweight titleholder.

Aspinall is now a bonified superstar and it appears Hall may need to reach deep into his pockets if he hopes to book another private workout with the third British champion in UFC history.

‘It’s just gone mad’ – Mother of 12-year-old MMA prospect stunned by viral reaction to latest fight

Jordan Ellis — Mon, 20 Nov 2023 13:16:18 +0000

Noah Tyndall recently became an overnight social media star.

The 12-year-old Liverpudlian has been training in mixed martial arts for four years and during that time he’s earned a yellow belt in Jiu-Jitsu and won gold medals at tournaments.

Noah used his submission skills to win another big prize

Meltdown Fighting Championships 11

However, the youngster and his family didn’t expect Noah to become one of the most talked about people in MMA as he’s still several years away from being allowed to fight professionally.

But that’s exactly what happened when footage from his title bout against Ceejay Fenton at Meltdown Fighting Championship 11 in Bristol last month made its way online.

An edit of the fight was uploaded to TikTok and quickly racked up 38.2 million views and many more on the other social media sites it was shared on.

It shows Ceejay entering the cage while mimicking the actions of UFC stars Jon Jones, Conor McGregor, and Leon Edwards before getting in his opponent’s face.

When the fight got underway, both competitors traded body shots – head strikes were not allowed due to their age – before Noah pulled guard looking for a submission finish.

It wasn’t long before he locked up an armbar and earned the tap.

Winning a title at any age is a massive deal, but it became much bigger when the internet caught wind of the fiery fight between two baby-faced MMA prospects.

Noah’s mum, Susanne Riley, told the Liverpool Echo: “We don’t even understand TikTok but it went mad.

Both fighters came out swinging and the internet loved it

@everything.mma - TikTok

Noah was simply too good on the floor

@everything.mma - TikTok

“People keep sharing it. We’ve got creators who are sharing it and talking about him. It’s just gone mad. I never expected anything like this to happen.

“I didn’t think for one minute it would be global. We’ve had numerous messages from different places in the world.”

Away from his obvious talent and newfound fame, Susanne was most impressed by the way her son treated his opponent in the aftermath of their scrap.

She said: “I’m super proud of him. When he won this last fight, he went straight to his opponent and consoled him.

“Just the way he carries himself, the way he is, kids all over the country know him and he’s a role model for the upcoming generations.”

Noah’s family struggles with the nature of his chosen sport, but the young scouser seems to take it, and all the attention it has brought him, like it’s nothing.

Susanne concluded: “I go to every fight he does, and it never gets easier. You’re always nervous, you’re always worried.

“He’s been taking it in his stride. You wouldn’t know he’d become a little star overnight because, at the end of it, he’s still a 12-year-old boy.”

Dustin Poirier wants to ‘slap around’ lightweight rival Conor McGregor in fourth fight at UFC 300

Jordan Ellis — Mon, 20 Nov 2023 12:09:55 +0000

Dustin Poirier is ready to complete his tetralogy of fights with Conor McGregor.

‘The Diamond’ is 2-1 against McGregor after losing their first encounter at featherweight in 2014 before winning a pair of contests at lightweight in 2021.

McGregor fractured his tibia and fibula at UFC 264

Getty

‘Notorious’ has repeatedly called for a fourth bout with his rival after their UFC 264 matchup ended in inconclusive circumstances as he suffered a fight-ending injury.

More than two years later, McGregor is finally ready to return, and it’s believed he will face Michael Chandler in the first half of 2024.

However, Poirier is willing to fight the Irishman again if called upon.

“I probably would try to shut him up once and for all,” he told Megan Olivi at UFC Vegas 82 on Saturday night.

“Even if I slap his a** around again he’s still going to be chatting, so, we’ll see.

“Is him and Chandler official? I don’t know what’s going on.”

If it’s not McGregor, the Louisiana native is unsure who will be next as there appears to be a queue forming for a shot at Islam Makhachev’s 155lb title.

“If [Charles] Oliveira’s getting the fight against with [Islam] Makhachev, [Justin] Gaethje’s going to be next,” Poirier said.

McGregor and Poirier fell out ahead of their trilogy bout

GETTY

Poirier has won his last two fights against his Irish rival

GETTY

‘The Diamond’ is still holding some ill will years later

UFC - YouTube

“He’s going to sit out and wait for that because he’s guaranteed himself a shot, so how long is that going to take, you know?

“So, I’ve got to fight somebody, it just depends on who the biggest fight I can make is.”

Regardless of opponent, Poirier knows exactly what event he wants to fight at after taking some time away from MMA following his head-kick knockout loss against Gaethje in July.

He added: “I’ve been thinking about [UFC] 300.

“I think that’s a big event, you know?

“Like I said in another interview, I missed [UFC] 200, I’m not going to be around for [UFC] 400, so that would be like, pretty cool for me.”

Dana White handed $500,000 by ‘f***ing lunatics’ at casino after F1 Las Vegas Grand Prix

Jordan Ellis — Mon, 20 Nov 2023 10:42:44 +0000

Dana White was left stunned after receiving an extremely generous gift from podcasters Taylor Lewan and Steve Will Do It.

Like many other celebrities, the UFC CEO was in Las Vegas this weekend to watch Max Verstappen win the latest Formula 1 Grand Prix ahead of Ferrari rival Charles Leclerc and Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez.

White makes no secret about his love of gambling

@danawhite - instagram

Naturally, White, who is a self-confessed degenerate gambler, ended his night in a casino and two of his friends managed to turn $10,000 (£8000) into $500,000 (£400,545).

Instead of keeping the cash for themselves, they gave it to the man who helped make the UFC a mainstream sports promotion and pocketed an estimated $500million (£400m) in the process.

“I’m here at Red Rocks [casino] right now, it’s f***ing 2:30 in the morning or whatever,” White said in a video shared on his Instagram story.

“Formula 1 just ended, I’m here with Taylor Lewan from ‘Bussin with the Boys’ on Barstool and Steve Will Do It from the Nelk Boys.

“These two just won a half a million dollars, these are $25,000 (£20,000) chips.

“Half a million dollars and gave it to me. They are f***ing lunatics.”

“It started with $10,000. These two started with $10,000 and went on a mission to win me a half a million dollars and they did it! It’s f***ing unbelievable.

Lewan, a former NFL star, won big for the UFC boss this weekend

@danawhite - instagram

Money often changes hands when White hangs out with Steve Will Do It

@danawhite- instagram

White’s wild story was quickly corroborated by Lewan on social media.

“Just had the most insane gambling experience in my life with Stevewilldoit,” he wrote on X – formerly known as Twitter. “I’m not exaggerating when I say it was a movie.

“It might not ever be done again in the history of time.”

This is not the first time Steve Will Doit – real name Stephen Deleonardis – has impressed White with a shockingly expensive gift.

In December 2021, the social media star surprised his pal with a customised $300,000 (£240,327) Maybach van.

A few months later, White returned the favour – and caused controversy in the process – by gifting Steve’s fellow Nelk Boy Kyle Forgeard $250,000 (£200,272) for his birthday.

The UFC boss will now start thinking about how to repay Lewan and Steve Will Doit for their bizarre cash gift.

Conor McGregor shares footage from training session with former MMA champion as UFC comeback edges closer

Jordan Ellis — Sun, 19 Nov 2023 17:21:16 +0000

Conor McGregor’s comeback preparation has gone to the next level.

‘Notorious’ has been working hard to stay in shape during his lengthy hiatus from MMA, but now he’s sharing rounds with elite-level fighters at the UFC gym in Dubai.

McGregor and Loughnane are training together in the Middle East

@brendanmma - instagram

Brendan Loughnane, who is the former PFL featherweight champion, has provided McGregor with a world-class training partner ahead of his proposed return in 2024.

The Manchester man previously proved UFC CEO Dana White wrong for rejecting him by winning a $1 million tournament and becoming a world champion in the process.

Loughnane is also gearing up for his own comeback fight after suffering a shock knockout loss – the first stoppage defeat of his career – when he fought Jesus Pinedo in June.

On Friday, the former dual-weight UFC titleholder shared several pictures of him sparring with Loughnane and a video of them going through an intense wrestling drill together.

A few days earlier, the British fan favourite posted pictures of him and McGregor squaring off against each other in striking and wrestling exchanges.

More shots of the unlikely friends hanging out have also circulated online.

McGregor hasn’t fought since breaking his leg during a trilogy bout with Dustin Poirier at UFC 264 in July 2021 – but he’s been injury-free all year.

The UFC legend is booked to fight Michael Chandler and the two men even filmed a series of The Ultimate Fighter together ahead of a proposed clash that was supposed to take place in 2023.

‘Notorious’ posted some action shots from sparring

@thenotoriousmma - instagram

But also a clip of him drenched in sweat during wrestling practice

@thenotoriousmma - instagram

However, McGregor’s return to action has been delayed by a dispute with the UFC’s drug testing partner and will now happen at some point next year.

John Kavanagh, who has trained McGregor since his MMA debut, recently told talkSPORT that his biggest star will fight before the first half of 2024 is over.

“We have no date set yet, but within the first half of next year he’ll definitely have his comeback,” the SBG Ireland Head Coach insisted.

It’s hoped McGregor vs Chandler will headline UFC 300 in April, but White has remained coy on exactly when and where the Irishman will make his comeback.

MMA fighter suffers scary four-second knockout loss while trying to replicate famous Jorge Masvidal finish

Jordan Ellis — Sun, 19 Nov 2023 15:50:18 +0000

MMA fighter Iury Silva paid a hefty price for trying to imitate UFC icon Jorge Masvidal.

The light heavyweight, who was making his professional debut, recently squared off against fellow newbie Xiko Loko at an Acesso MMA event in Fortaleza, Brazil.

Silva was made to pay for attempting a high-risk move

@xikolok0 - instagram

However, his first octagon outing ended in a brutally quick knockout defeat.

Footage from the bout shows Silva sprinting at his opponent as soon as the fight begins before raising his leg and trying to land some form of flying attack.

Unfortunately, for him, Loko saw it coming and he connected with a monstrous countershot that sent his rival crashing to the canvas in the opening moments of their fight.

Silva cracked his head hard on the floor before eating multiple follow-up punches that knocked him out cold and caused his arms to stiffen in a scary manner.

Thankfully, the referee saved him from eating too many unnecessary punches and medical staff were able to quickly enter the cage to help his recovery.

Meanwhile, Loko wildly celebrated his four-second knockout win.

Firstly, with those inside the venue, and later with his social media followers.

“Yesterday I had the pleasure of fighting this great event where I had the opportunity to do one of the main fights of the night,” Loko wrote alongside a video of his KO on Instagram.

Loko avoided the flying kick in the best way possible

@xikolok0 - instagram

Masvidal scored one of the best KO’s in MMA history four years ago

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“Fastest knockout in history [of] Acesso MMA. Knockout of the night.

“All honour and all glory be given to the Lord without him I am nothing.”

Masvidal made flying attacks from the opening bell a thing in 2019.

‘Gamebred’ was considered the underdog when he fought relentless wrestler Ben Askren at UFC 239 in Las Vegas – but he managed to finish their fight in just five seconds.

The recently retired former BMF champion cut an angle and charged at his opponent who dipped for a takedown only to be put unconscious by Masvidal’s knee.

Four years later, ‘Street Jesus’ still holds the record for quickest KO in UFC history, and it seems highly unlikely that anyone will be able to better his feat in the near future.

One glance at Silva’s recent loss may convince some MMA fighters to stop trying flying attacks from the opening bell altogether – unless they are on Masvidal’s level.

UFC star channels Derrick Lewis by taking off pants following submission win over trash-talking opponent

Jordan Ellis — Sun, 19 Nov 2023 13:51:28 +0000

Joanderson Brito did his best impression of Derrick Lewis at UFC Vegas 82.

The Brazilian fighter squared off against streaking featherweight contender Jonathan Pearce in the featured preliminary bout at the UFC Apex on Saturday night.

Brito immediately stripped following his career-best win

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In round one, both men had their moments, and it was difficult to split them.

However, Pearce began to take over during the following frame as he landed a takedown and caused damage with his relentless ground attacks.

Brito tried to defend himself, but his punches went wayward and triggered some trash talk from his opponent who told the referee he had been the recipient of illegal shots to the back of the head.

Despite being floored, Brito mocked Pearce for his complaint and got a big reaction as the American repeatedly told him: “Get up and do something, boy!”

That’s exactly what he did shortly after the entertaining verbal exchange.

Brito popped back his feet and immediately locked up a ninja choke.

The submission was so deep Pearce was forced to tap out for the first time since suffering back-to-back submission defeats on the regional circuit in 2016.

Following his shocking win, Brito celebrated by dropping his pants and launching his mouth guard into the crowd in a scene eerily similar to Lewis’ most famous post-fight display.

The 28-year-old locked up a deep submission out of nowhere

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Lewis was the first man to strip in the UFC Octagon

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The heavyweight knockout artist stripped down to his boxers after his comeback victory over Alexander Volkov at UFC 229 in October 2018.

And when UFC legend Joe Rogan asked, ‘The Black Beast’ to explain his wacky celebration, Lewis simply replied: “My balls was hot.”

Lewis recreated his viral celebration when he stopped Marcos Rogério de Lima in 33 seconds at UFC 291 in July – but he has since been beaten by Jailton Almeida

Unfortunately, it could be the last time fans see him in the UFC.

The 38-year-old has lost four of his last five fights and appears to be done competing at the top of the UFC’s heavyweight division after a memorable career with MMA’s premier promotion.

Brito, who is ten years younger, appears intent on keeping Lewis’s celebration alive if the heavyweight icon’s time in the UFC is over.

Paddy Pimblett and Dillon Danis among MMA stars stunned by sensational spinning kick KO at UFC Vegas 82

Jordan Ellis — Sun, 19 Nov 2023 12:40:59 +0000

Amanda Ribas impressed some of the biggest stars in MMA with her highlight-reel knockout win at UFC Vegas 82.

The popular strawweight contender didn’t have things all her own way when she fought her former roommate, Luana Pinheiro, at the UFC Apex on Saturday night.

Ribas turned the tables with a stunning strike in round three

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By the end of round one, Ribas was bruised and bloodied after enduring relentless attacks from her opponent who was riding a nine-fight win streak.

The 30-year-old adjusted in the following frame and worked her way into what proved to be one of the most exciting fights on the UFC’s latest card.

In round three, Ribas uncorked a spinning back kick that connected flush on the jaw of Pinheiro who incredibly managed to stay on her feet after eating the blow.

However, moments later she was taken out by a series of follow-up shots.

Dazed and confused, Pinheiro was bundled to the floor by a two-punch combination before eating ground strikes that forced the referee to call the fight off.

UFC fighters rushed to social media to praise Ribas for her performance.

Paddy Pimblett said: “What a scrap that was! Brilliant finish by Amanda Ribas there she’s earned that 50g bonus! She got that dawggggg in her.”

Sean O’Malley simply tweeted: “Sheeeesh.”

‘The Baddy’ was impressed

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So was Danis and several other MMA stars

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Dillon Danis added: “So beautiful what a kick!”

Marlon Vera commented: “Crazy come back.”

Ribas celebrated her latest win by sending a message to her 115lb rivals.

“Strawweight division, I’m back,” she shouted afterwards.

Ribas is primed for a second run at the strawweight belt

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Naturally, Ribas earned a $50,000 (£40,138) Performance of the Night bonus following her sensational KO victory over a rising star who hadn’t lost since March 2017.

The Brazilian will be hoping her win will start another title run.

Ribas began her career as a 10-1 prospect before suffering a shocking TKO defeat against Marina Rodriguez in January 2021 and subsequently deciding to move up a division.

After losing two of her three fights at flyweight, Ribas returned to her natural weight class, picked up arguably a career-best win and paved the way for a strawweight title charge in 2024.

STATEMENT MADE

Amanda Ribas scores a big comeback win over Luana Pinheiro! #UFCVegas82 pic.twitter.com/Nvvn7F3eIZ
— UFC on TNT Sports (@ufcontnt) November 18, 2023

Bill Burr defends ‘hilarious’ wife after she caused controversy by aiming obscene gesture at Donald Trump during UFC 295

Jordan Ellis — Sun, 19 Nov 2023 12:26:11 +0000

Comedian Bill Burr has played down his wife’s viral interaction with Donald Trump.

The 45^th U.S. president received the biggest cheer of the night when he arrived at Madison Square Garden in New York for UFC 295 last weekend.

Trump is popular among UFC fans

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A round of applause echoed around the iconic venue during his grand entrance before chants of ‘USA’ erupted when he finally sat down alongside UFC CEO Dana White, musician Kid Rock and political commentator Tucker Carlson.

Although most of the crowd was pro-Trump, the TV-star-turned-politician’s presence was not well received by everyone in attendance.

Nia Renée Hill, who has been married to Burr since 2013, was caught on camera flipping off Trump with both her middle fingers and footage of the incident quickly circulated on social media.

The mother of two upset many by aiming a disrespectful gesture at Trump.

One person tweeted: “Classless.”

Another wrote: “Trashy is as trashy does.”

Others found Hill’s antics amusing, while many more thought her gesture was aimed at the camera, not the divisive political figure standing in front of her.

Someone else commented: “That’s funny!”

Hill made her feelings clear without saying one word

ESPN/UFC

Burr thinks his wife’s gesture was hilarious and harmless

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A fourth person said: “She was flipping the camera off. She was just being spicy.”

Burr leapt to his wife’s defence when he was quizzed about the incident for the first time during a recent appearance on The Rich Eisen Show.

“I love my wife, you know where you stand with her,” he said.

“The guy walked into the arena, everybody cheered, she gave him the finger, nobody got arrested. That’s why this country’s great!

“Everybody expressed themselves. Can we all be adults?

“I came there to go to the fights. I didn’t know I was going to the Republican National Convention.”

Burr concluded the conversation by branding his wife ‘hilarious’ and laughing off the incident as a funny moment, although not everyone viewed it as such.

Bill Burr responds to the backlash after his wife was seen flipping off Donald Trump at the UFC fight.

I think Bill handled this beautifully.

It’s not that deep for me. His wife doesn’t like Trump and I’ll live.

Your thoughts? pic.twitter.com/YWSuWzNWaE
— Amiri King (@AmiriKing) November 18, 2023

UFC fighter celebrates win by twerking for commentators and announcing her OnlyFans page is now free

Jordan Ellis — Sun, 19 Nov 2023 10:28:55 +0000

Ailin Perez made the most of her moment in the spotlight at UFC Vegas 82.

The Argentine bantamweight fighter showed true grit during her unanimous decision win over Lucie Pudilová at the UFC Apex on Saturday night – but it was her post-fight antics that got people talking.

Perez’s son is her number-one fan

UFC/ESPN

After being declared the winner, Perez began twerking in the middle of the Octagon as the cameraman cut to her young son celebrating in the crowd to create a viral moment.

The 29-year-old wasn’t done there. Perez made her way to the commentary booth and did a handstand before twerking again for the broadcast team.

UFC announcer Brendan Fitzgerald was caught on camera cheering her on in footage filmed by the ex-Playboy model Tom Aspinall recently shared a wild interview with.

Soon after, Perez went backstage to chat with the media.

The 135lb contender wanted to promote her OnlyFans page, which is free to access after her big win, rather than discuss the fight.

“For anyone who wants to check out my OnlyFans, at this moment, it’s free,” Perez said.

“My OnlyFans is not pornography, it’s art.

“All my followers could prove that by checking it out.”

The MMA star made sure everyone got to see her signature dance move

ESPN/UFC

Before directing fans to her OnlyFans page

@ailu.perez.ufc - instagram

Perez wants to face 10th-ranked contender Norma Dumont next in a fight she dubbed ‘The Battle of the Asses’, but fans were more interested to hear about a scrap she had before UFC Vegas 82.

‘Fiona’ entered the bout with a black eye that swelled shut during her 15-minute contest and rumours were circulating about another UFC fighter giving her it during a gym scuffle.

“This irrelevant lady came up to me after I was opinionated about one of her fights, just talking about the performance that she did,” Perez explained.

“And she came to assault me. She did assault me with the intention to make me pull out of my fight, but I’m sorry, she did not achieve it. I won and fought regardless of the assault that took place.

Perez entered her fight with a shiner

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“I want to thank my coach, who was there at the time of the assault because if it wasn’t for him, I would have had much worse injuries because he was able to take her off me when she was assaulting me.”

Perez claimed she couldn’t ‘remember’ who her attacker was, but bantamweight fighter Joselyn Edwards was quick to admit her involvement in the altercation.

“While we were fighting, her coach attacked me from behind. He was strangling me so that Ailin would hit me,” Edwards told MMA Mania.

“Her coach attacked me. I practically had to fight two of them.

Edwards claims she was the victim of a 2-on-1 attack

@joselyne_edwards - instagram

“He did not protect anyone, he started the fight, he was the one who heated things so that the fight would take place, and then he attacked me and was strangling me.

“Later, when they had already separated me from Ailin, he was still strangling me and did not want to let me go. He never separated the fight; he attacked me while she attacked me.”

Perez and Edwards are currently without opponents and it seems like a matter of time before they settle their beef inside the UFC Octagon.

Ailin Perez is one of the most entertaining female UFC fighters LOL. #UFCVegas82 Congratulations @goatshedacademy pic.twitter.com/u4z6VL03TU
— Nina-Marie Daniele (@ninamdrama) November 18, 2023

UFC schedule 2023: Every upcoming fight and full results including Leon Edwards vs Colby Covington at UFC 296

Marc Williams — Sun, 19 Nov 2023 09:42:00 +0000

There’s plenty of elite UFC action coming up over the next weeks and months as the best mixed martial artists in the world get ready to do battle.

MMA in 2023 has been full of incredible drama and there’s a host of top fights coming up this winter.

There’s plenty of elite UFC action coming up in 2023

Here’s the full schedule for all of the upcoming UFC fights…

UPCOMING EVENTS IN 2023

UFC Fight Night 233 – December 2, 2023 – Moody Center, Austin, Texas

Jamey-Lyn Horth vs. Veronica Hardy
Miesha Tate vs. Julia Avila
Punahele Soriano vs. Dustin Stoltzfus

UFC Fight Night 234 – December 9, 2023 – TBA

Zhang Mingyang vs. Brendson Ribeiro
Su Mudaerji vs. Allan Nascimento
Andre Muniz vs. Park Jun-yong

UFC 296 – December 16, 2023 – T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas

Leon Edwards (c) vs. Colby Covington – for UFC Welterweight Championship
Alexandre Pantoja (c) vs. Brandon Royval – for UFC Flyweight Championship
Tony Ferguson vs. Paddy Pimblett
Shavkat Rakhmonov vs. Stephen Thompson
Vicente Luque vs. Ian Machado Garry

RESULTS IN 2023

UFC Fight Night 232 – November 18, 2023 – UFC Apex, Las Vegas

Brendan Allen def. Paul Craig – Submisson (rear-naked choke)
Michael Morales def. Jake Matthews – Decision (unanimous)
Chase Hooper def. Jordan Leavitt – Submission (rear-naked choke)

UFC 295 – November 11, 2023 – Madison Square Garden, New York

Alex Pereira def. Jiri Prochazka – KO (elbows)
Tom Aspinall def. Sergei Pavlovich – TKO (strikes)
Diego Lopes def. Pat Sabatini – TKO (strikes)
Jessica Andrade def. Mackenzie Dern – TKO (strikes)

UFC Fight Night 231 – November 4, 2023 – Sao Paulo, Brazil

Jailton Almeida def. Derrick Lewis – Decision (unanimous)
Nicolas Dalby def. Gabriel Bonfim – TKO (punches)
Rodrigo Nascimento def. Don’Tale Mayes – Decision (unanimous)

UFC 294 – October 21, 2023 – Etihad Arena, Abu Dhabi

Islam Makhachev def. Alexander Volkanovski – TKO (punches)
Khamzat Chimaev def. Kamaru Usman – Decision (majority)
Magomed Ankalaev draw. Johnny Walker (no contest)
Ikram Aliskerov def. Warlley Alves – TKO (punches)

UFC Fight Night 230 – October 14, 2023 – UFC Apex, Las Vegas

Edson Barboza def. Sodiq Yusuff, Decision (unanimous)
Viviane Araujo def. Jennifer Maia, Decision (unanimous)
Jonathan Martinez def. Adrian Yanez, TKO (leg kick)

UFC Fight Night 229 – October 7, 2023 – UFC Apex, Las Vegas

Bobby Green def. Grant Dawson, KO (punches)
Joe Pyfer def. Abdul Razak Alhassan, Technical Submission (arm-triangle choke)
Joaquin Buckley def. Alex Morono, Decision (unanimous)

UFC Fight Night 228 – September 23, 2023 – UFC Apex, Las Vegas

Mateusz Gamrot def. Rafael Fiziev, TKO (injury)
Bryce Mitchell def Dan Ige, Decision (unanimous)
Marina Rodriguez def. Michelle Waterson-Gomez, TKO (strikes)

UFC Fight Night 227 – September 16, 2023 – T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas

Alexa Grasso (c) vs. Valentina Shevchenko, Draw (split)
Jack Della Maddalena def. Kevin Holland, Decision (split)
Raul Rosas Jr def. Terrence Mitchell, TKO (punches)

UFC 293 – September 10, 2023 – Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney

Sean Strickland def. Israel Adesanya, Decision (unanimous)
Alexander Volkov def. Tai Tuivasa, Submission (ezekial choke)
Manel Kape def. Felipe dos Santos, Decision (unanimous)

UFC on ESPN 53 – September 2, 2023 – Accor Arena, Paris

Ciryl Gane def. Sergey Spivak, TKO (punches)
Manon Fiorot def. Rose Namajunas, Decision (unanimous)
Volkan Oezdemir def. Bogdan Guskov, Submission (rear-naked choke)

UFC Fight Night – August 26, 2023 – Singapore Indoor Stadium

Max Holloway def. Jung Chan-sung, KO (punches)
Anthony Smith def. Ryan Spann, Decision (split)
Erin Blanchfield def. Taila Santos, Decision (unanimous)

UFC Fight Night 226 – August 5, 2023 – Bridgestone Arena, Nashville

Cory Sandhagen def. Rob Font, Decision (unanimous)
Tatiana Suarez def. Jessica Andrade, Submission (guillotine choke)
Dustin Jacoby def. Kennedy Nzechukwu, TKO (punches)

UFC 291 – July 29, 2023 – Delta Center, Salt Lake City

Justin Gaethje def. Dustin Poirier, KO (kick)
Alex Pereira def. Jan Blachowicz, Decision (split)
Bobby Green def. Tony Ferguson, Submission (arm-triangle choke)
Derrick Lewis def. Rogerio de Lima, TKO (punches)

UFC London – July 22, 2023 – O2 Arena, London

Tom Aspinall def. Marcin Tybura, TKO (punches)
Julija Stoliarenko def. Molly McCann, Submission (armbar)
Paul Craig def. Andre Muniz, TKO (elbows)

UFC 290 – July 8, 2023 – T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas

Alexander Volkanovski def. Yair Rodriguez, TKO (punches)
Alexandre Pantoja def. Brandon Moreno, Decision (split)
Dricus du Plessis def. Robert Whittaker, TKO (punches)

UFC on ESPN 48 – July 1, 2023 – UFC Apex, Las Vegas

Sean Strickland def. Abusupiyan Magomedov, TKO (punches)
Grant Dawson def. Damir Ismagulov, Decision (unanimous)
Michael Morales def. Max Griffin, Decision (unanimous)

UFC on ABC 5 – June 24, 2023 – VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena, Jacksonville

Ilia Topuria def. Josh Emmett, Decision (unanimous)
Maycee Barber def. Amanda Ribas, TKO (punches and elbows)
Austen Lane vs. Justin Tafa, No Contest (accidental eye poke)

UFC on ESPN 47 – June 17, 2023 – UFC Apex, Las Vegas

Jared Cannonier def. Marvin Vettori, Decision (unanimous)
Arman Tsarukyan def. Joaquim Silva, TKO (takedown)
Armen Petrosyan def. Christian Leroy Duncan, Decision (unanimous)

UFC 289 – June 10, 2023 – Rogers Arena, Vancouver, Canada

Amanda Nunes (c) def. Irene Aldana, Decision (unanimous)
Charles Oliveira def. Beneil Dariush, TKO (punches)
Mike Malott def. Adam Fugitt, Submission (guillotine choke)

UFC on ESPN 46 – June 3, 2023 – UFC Apex, Las Vegas

Amir Albazi def. Kai Kara-France, Decision (split)
Alex Caceres def. Daniel Pineda, Decision (unanimous)
Jim Miller def. Jesse Buttler, KO1 (punches)

UFC Vegas 73 – May 20, 2023 – UFC Apex, Las Vegas

Mackenzie Dern def. Angela Hill, Decision (unanimous)
Anthony Hernandez def. Edmen Shahbazyan, TKO (elbows and punches)
Lupita Godinez def. Emily Ducote, Decision (unanimous)

UFC on ABC 4 – May 13, 2023 – Spectrum Center, Charlotte, North Carolina

Jailton Almeida def. Jairzinho Rozenstruik, Submission (rear-naked choke)
Johnny Walker def. Anthony Smith, Decision (unanimous)
Ian Garry def. Daniel Rodriguez, TKO1 (punches)

UFC 288 – May 6, 2023 – Prudential Center, New Jersey

Aljamain Sterling (c) def. Henry Cejudo, Decision (split)
Belal Muhammad def. Gilbert Burns, Decision (unanimous)
Yan Xiaonan def. Jessica Andrade, KO (punches)
Movsar Evloev def. Diego Lopes, Decision (unanimous)

UFC Fight Night 223 – April 29, 2023 – UFC Apex, Las Vegas

Song Yadong def. Ricky Simon, KO5 (Punches)
Caio Borralho def. Michał Oleksiejczuk, Submission (rear-naked choke)
Rodolfo Vieira def. Cody Brundage, Submission (arm triangle)

UFC Fight Night 222 – April 22, 2023 – UFC Apex, Las Vegas

Sergei Pavlovich def. Curtis Blaydes, KO1 (Punches)
Bruno Silva def. Brad Tavares, KO1 (Punches)

UFC on ESPN 44 – April 15, 2023 – T-Mobile Center, Kansas City

Max Holloway def. Arnold Allen, Decision (unanimous)
Edson Barboza def. Billy Quarantillo, KO (knee)
Azamat Murzakanov def. Dustin Jacoby, Decision (unanimous)

UFC 287 – April 8, 2023 – Miami-Dade Arena, Miami

Israel Adesanya def. Alex Pereira, KO2 (Punches)
Gilbert Burns def. Jorge Masvidal, Decision (unanimous)
Rob Font def. Adrian Yanez, TKO2 (Punches)
Kevin Holland def. Santiago Ponzinibbio, KO3 (Punches)

UFC on ESPN 43 – March 25, 2023 – AT&T Center, San Antonio

Cory Sandhagen def. Marlon Vera, Decision (split)
Holly Holm def. Yana Santos, Decision (unanimous)
Nate Landwehr def. Austin Lingo, Submission (rear-naked choke)

UFC 286 – March 18, 2023 – The O2 Arena, London

Leon Edwards (c) def. Kamaru Usman, Decision (majority)
Justin Gaethje def. Rafael Fiziev, Decision (majority)
Gunnar Nelson def. Bryan Barberena, Submission (armbar)
Jennifer Maia def. Casey O’Neill, Decision (unanimous)

UFC Fight Night 221 – March 11, 2023 – The Theater at Virgin Hotels, Las Vegas

Merab Dvalishvili def. Petr Yan, Decision (unanimous)
Alexander Volkov def. Alexander Romanov, TKO (punches
Nikita Krylov def. Ryan Spann, Submission (triangle choke)

UFC 285 – March 4, 2023 – T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas

Jon Jones def. Ciryl Gane, Submission (guillotine choke)
Alexa Grasso def. Valentina Shevchenko (c), Submission (face crank)
Shavkat Rakhmonov def. Geoff Neal, Submission (rear-naked choke)
Mateusz Gamrot def. Jalin Turner, Decision (split)
Bo Nickal def. Jamie Pickett, Submission (arm-triangle choke)

UFC Fight Night 220 – February 25, 2023 – UFC Apex, Las Vegas

Brendan Allen def. Andre Muniz, Submission (rear-naked choke)
Augusto Sakai def. Don’Tale Mayes, Decision (unanimous)
Tatiana Suarez def. Montana De La Rosa, Submission (guillotine choke)

UFC Fight Night 219 – February 18, 2023 – UFC Apex, Las Vegas

Erin Blanchfield def. Jessica Andrade, Submission (rear-naked choke)
Zac Pauga def. Jordan Wright, Decision
Jamal Pogues def. Josh Parisian, Decision (unanimous)

UFC 284 – February 12, 2023 – RAC Arena, Perth

Islam Makhachev (c) def. Alexander Volkanovski, Decision (unanimous)
Yair Rodríguez def. Josh Emmett, Submission (triangle choke)
Jack Della Maddalena def. Randy Brown, Submission (rear-naked choke)
Justin Tafa def. Parker Porter, KO (punch)
Jimmy Crute vs. Alonzo Menifield, Draw (majority)

UFC Fight Night 218 – February 4, 2023 – UFC Apex, Las Vegas

Sergey Spivak def. Derrick Lewis, Submission (arm-triangle choke)
Devin Clark def. Jung Da-un, Decision (unanimous)
Marcin Tybura def. Blagoy Ivanov, Decision (unanimous)

UFC 283 – January 21, 2023 – Jeunesse Arena, Rio de Janeiro

Jamahal Hill def. Glover Teixeira, Decision (unanimous)
Brandon Moreno def. Deiveson Figueiredo, TKO (doctor stoppage)
Gilbert Burns def. Neil Magny, Submission (arm-triangle choke)
Jessica Andrade def. Lauren Murphy, Decision (unanimous)
Johnny Walker def. Paul Craig, TKO (punches)

UFC Fight Night 217 – January 14, 2023 – UFC Apex, Las Vegas

Sean Strickland def. Nassourdine Imavov, UD
Dan Ige def. Damon Jackson, KO2 (Punches)
Roman Kopylov def. Punahele Soriano, TKO2 (Punches)

UFC Fight Night 232 LIVE: UK start time, fight card and how to follow as Scotland’s Paul Craig faces Brendan Allen

Jack Johnson — Sat, 18 Nov 2023 16:34:00 +0000

Brendan Allen and Paul Craig will headline the latest UFC Fight Night card in Las Vegas this evening.

The pair meet with Allen stepping into the octagon on the brink of title contention after winning his last five fights.

Craig is set for his first UFC Main Event

‘All In’ has won four of those five by chokehold and boasts a 10-2 record after coming through Dana White’s Contender Series.

He now comes up against Craig who recently moved down in weight following two defeats in a row before beating Andre Muniz in July.

The Scotsman has now been rewarded with his first UFC main event and he will be hoping to continue his great start in the middleweight division.

Allen vs Craig: Date and how to follow

This UFC Fight Night will take place on Saturday, November 18.

It is being held at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, USA.

The preliminary card is expected to get underway at 7pm UK time before the main card gets started at 10pm UK time.

The prelims will be available to watch live on the UFC Fight Pass for £6.99 per month. Details on how to sign up can be found here.

The main card will be broadcast on TNT Sports in the UK. More details can be found here.

Craig has dropped down a weight division

Allen vs Craig: Fight card

Subject to change

Main card

MAIN EVENT: Brendan Allen vs Paul Craig
Michael Morales vs Jake Matthews
Chase Hooper vs Jordan Leavitt
Payton Talbott vs Nick Aguirre
Luana Pinheiro vs Amanda Ribas

Preliminary card

Jonathan Pearce vs Joanderson Brito
Chad Anheliger vs Jose Johnson
Mick Parkin vs Caio Machado
Jeka Saraghi vs Lucas Alexander
Lucie Pudilova vs Ailin Perez
Trey Ogden vs Nikolas Motta
Charles Johnson vs Rafael Estevam
Ottman Azaitar vs Darrius Flowers
Christian Leroy Duncan vs Denis Tiuliulin
Uros Medic vs Myktybek Orolbai Uulu

Allen and Craig excel on the ground in the Octagon

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Allen vs Craig: What has been said?

Allen has no fear heading into the fight against Craig this weekend.

“I fear no man,” he said. “I turn down no fight. If that’s what he wants, he can come get it.

“I don’t care. Anyone can get it. Khamzat [Chimaev], [Jared] Cannonier, [Marvin] Vettori – anyone. They can all get it.

“I don’t care. What? He’s going to try to take me down? Congratulations – you could take me down. I’ll jump guard, but what are you going to do with it?

“I’m a different beast. On my back, on top, it doesn’t matter. I’m a different beast.”

Meanwhile, Craig is happy that he is healthier after dropping down to middleweight from light-heavyweight.

“There’s been a few eye-openers in cutting weight. I was a light heavyweight for 12 years of my career and I’ve decided to move down,” he said.

“I feel much better in my skin, I feel much better in my body. I look physically more muscular.

“Even though it’s just a little bit of muscle, my body fat has gone way down, so all the kinds of things, all the numbers that I’m producing in training have been through the roof.”

Tony Ferguson’s ruthless trainer David Goggins transformed from 300lbs cockroach sprayer to world-famous hard man

Joshua Rogers — Sat, 18 Nov 2023 16:00:00 +0000

Desperate times call for desperate measures, and Tony Ferguson is leaving nothing to chance ahead of his fight with Paddy ‘the Baddy’ Pimblett.

The MMA stars, who are at opposite ends of their careers, face off at UFC 296 on December 17, and to get himself mentally and physically prepared for the fight ‘El Cucuy’ has drafted in one of the hardest men on the planet.

Goggins is seen as one of the toughest men in the world, but it wasn’t always that way

Instagram - davidgoggins

David Goggins is a former Navy SEAL, ultramarathon runner and bestselling author whose self-help memoirs ‘Can’t Hurt Me’ and ‘Never Finished’ have sold millions of copies.

The 48-year-old is the only member of the U.S. Armed Forces to complete SEAL training, Army Ranger School, and Air Force Tactical Air Controller training, but he wasn’t always the unbreakable character he is today.

Goggins had a troubled upbringing where him, his mother, and older brother were physically and mentally abused by his father, Trunnis Goggins.

The American has spoken extensively about his difficult childhood on podcasts such as The Joe Rogan Experience, describing his early years as ‘being like Hell on Earth’.

Goggins moved around as a lot as a child and fell behind at school due to toxic stress and having a learning difficulty. He developed a stutter due to social anxiety and repeatedly faced racism while living in Brazil, Indiana.

He taught himself how to read and write and eventually made it into the United States Air Force.

However, he was later diagnosed with sickle cell trait which forced him to move to the Air Force’s Tactical Air Control Party, which he quit due to his fear of water. After quitting the Air Force, his weight ballooned from 175lbs to 300lbs.

Goggins was the 36th African-American in US history to become a Navy SEAL

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“Fast forward to when I was 23/24, I was going nowhere, ” he says. “I was almost 300lbs, and was spraying cockroaches to pay the bills.

“I came home one day from work at 7am and saw a TV show about Navy SEALs; it made me sit down and think about how badly I always ran from my fears, and how I had to start facing them because nobody was coming to help me.”

Goggins joined the SEAL reserves and began training after shedding 106lbs in three months. He went on to join SEAL Team 5, becoming just the 36th African-American Navy SEAL in US history.

He had a 20-year military career that included tours of Iraq and Afghanistan and was awarded the VFW Americanism award in 2018 for his services in the United States Armed Forces.

After his life in the military, David dedicated his life to the pursuit of difficult physical challenges, mostly in the form of ultramarathons.

He became one of the world’s best endurance athletes, completing over 70 long-distances races including the San Diego One Day, a 24-hour ultramarathon, the Moab 240, an annual 238 mile ultramarathon in Utah, and the Leadville 100, a 100-mile trek through the rugged Rocky Mountain terrain.

If that wasn’t impressive enough, he also held the Guinness World Record for completing 4,030 pull-ups in seventeen hours.

Goggins gained mainstream media attention when he lived with entrepreneur Jessy Itzler for a month – an experience Itzler later wrote about in his book, Living With A SEAL.

Goggins has ran some of the hardest endurance races in the world

Instagram - davidgoggins

His self-help memoirs, including 2018’s Can’t Hurt Me, have helped millions of people

Instagram - davidgoggins

Despite being worth millions, Goggins spends his summers working as a wildland firefighter in British Columbia

Instagram - davidgoggins

Goggins released his own memoir, Can’t Hurt Me: Master Your Mind and Defy the Odds, in 2018, which became a worldwide smash.

Since then, he has become a sought after public speaker, and travels the world sharing his philosophy on how to master the mind with businesses, CEOs and top athletes.

David released his second book, Never Finished: Unshackle Your Mind and Win the War Within, in 2022, which was just as well received as his first.

David now spends his time working as an Advanced Emergency Technician in a big city Emergency Room and, during the summer, as a wildland firefighter in British Columbia.

The endurance athlete has over 9m followers on Instagram and regularly shares powerful motivational speeches while he’s out running hundreds of miles. Many of the videos are filmed by his partner, Jennifer Kish.

His ‘Stay Hard’ mantra has been an incredibly powerful psychological tool for his followers to remember in times of great difficulty.

Recently, he has been preaching his ‘Stay Hard’ philosophy to UFC star Tony Ferguson, who has been put through the ringer in one of Goggins’ infamous ‘Hell Weeks’.

The former Navy SEAL was right alongside Tony all week doing the exact same workout

Instagram - davidgoggins

‘El Cucuy’ teamed up with Goggins in an attempt to get himself in top physical and mental condition before his fight with Paddy Pimblett, and became the first athlete to ever complete a Goggins ‘Hell Week’ without quitting.

Goggins shared video footage throughout the brutal seven-day challenge, and had this to say on whether he thinks Tony will win his fight with Pimblett.

“A lot of people ask me if I think he will win his next fight- I don’t have the first damn clue about that. That’s up to Tony,” Goggins said.

“What I do know is that the man who walks into the Octagon on December 16th will be a deeply changed man.

“Sometimes when the fight is near, the warrior must go back home because home is where the hell began.

“My friends, Tony is home! Hello darkness my old friend.”

Former Playboy model stunned by X-rated question from Tom Aspinall during wild UFC interview filmed by boyfriend

Jordan Ellis — Sat, 18 Nov 2023 14:03:43 +0000

Tom Aspinall shocked an interviewer when he turned the tables ahead of his interim heavyweight title win over Sergei Pavlovich.

The UFC 295 star left Nina Drama gobsmacked when he asked an X-rated question during a conversation that started with the former Playboy model wondering if he is partaking in ‘No Nut November.’

Aspinall truly embraced his time with the former Playboy model

Nina Drama - YouTube

After almost 20 minutes, Aspinall pointed out the fact he hadn’t been asked a single question about MMA before referring to the ‘weird’ comments his interviewer gets when she does online Q&A sessions.

The 30-year-old proceeded to enquire about the strangest thing he could think of, he said: “I’ve got a question for you. Have you ever been f**gered by an MMA fighter before?”

Nina, who was baffled by the NSFW query, replied: “F**gered? No!”

Aspinall doubled down by adding, ‘Yeah f**gered’ and asking the UFC fan favourite – real name Nina-Marie Daniele – what it would take to convince her to do the sexual act with a fighter.

She replied: “To f**ger me? Like, are we talking about the same thing?”

After bursting into laughter and getting clarification from the Englishman they were on the same page, Nina-Marie confirmed that it is something she would ‘never’ consider.

The painfully awkward interaction was made worse by the fact Daniele’s boyfriend is also her cameraman – something that has been pointed out during her many interviews with UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland.

Aspinall concluded the cringe encounter by clarifying that the question was not his own and insisting he was just regurgitating something he had read online.

Nina Drama is known for her wacky pre-fight interviews

@ninamdrama - X

He said: “I saw some really weird questions on your Instagram, so I thought, ‘I’m just going to throw one in.’”

Nina shared a clip from the interview alongside the caption: “This was the craziest question any UFC fighter has ever asked me LOL.”

It has since racked up 3.8 million views on X – formerly known as Twitter – while 230,000 people have watched the full interview on her YouTube channel.

In the comment section, she clarified that she took the crude question in jest.

“I was not ready,” Nina-Marie commented alongside three laughing emojis.

“Part of me was like is it a language barrier, but when I realised we both spoke English. LMFAO all jokes tho, Tom’s a funny guy!! I think people aren’t used to British humour!”

Aspinall hasn’t reacted to his faux pas as he is too busy celebrating the biggest win of his career, dreaming about a UFC Manchester event and looking ahead to a scrap with Jon Jones.

This was the craziest question any UFC fighter has ever asked me LOL.

Full interview with Tom Aspinall on my YT channel: NinaDrama pic.twitter.com/AFlx5NU0ma
— Nina-Marie Daniele (@ninamdrama) November 17, 2023

Conor McGregor sends strange message to Snoop Dogg after rap legend shares major life update

Jordan Ellis — Sat, 18 Nov 2023 11:41:56 +0000

Conor McGregor was left stunned when Snoop Dogg recently suggested he will no longer be smoking weed.

The rap icon is a known lover of marijuana and has sung about it throughout his 30-year career, so many people were surprised when he claimed to be ‘giving up smoke’ on social media earlier this week.

Snoop Dogg’s post racked up 129 million views on X

@SnoopDogg - X

Perhaps none more than ‘Notorious’ who spent some time with Snoop Dogg when he visited Dublin in September – the two men cemented their new friendship by sharing a joint.

“Ladies and gentlemen, a mega announcement, a major announcement,” McGregor said in a since-deleted voice note posted to X – formerly known as Twitter.

“The icon that is Snoop Dogg is off the marijuana. He is off the weed. He is actually off the smoke. After deep consideration with his family, he has decided to give up the smoke, was his exact terminology.

“God bless that man. God bless the legend Snoop Dogg. I wish him all the best. Bravo. He runs it. Sometimes you gotta say to yourself, you run it, it doesn’t run you. That man runs that game, it doesn’t run him.

“I wish him all the best. We were in the Black Forge Inn a few weeks ago. He had an amazing show in Ireland, and we smoked a little bit after it. God bless him, what an icon.”

The former dual-weight UFC champion was so stunned by Snoop Dogg’s revelation that he went on to consider its terminology and suggest the 52-year-old will continue to use marijuana in a different way.

McGregor also revealed he has recently given up the drug himself as he prepares to make his eagerly anticipated return to MMA against Michael Chandler in 2024.

He added: “I am actually interested. He’s ‘off the smoke’ was the term he used but does that mean edibles? Maybe he will look to wean off it over time.

McGregor smoked before heading to watch his idol perform

@thenotoriousmma - instagram

Snoop Dogg brought out the UFC icon on stage

@mcgregorufc22 - Twitter

“What is the approach? If it is the smoke, just the smoke, that’s the way anyway because carcinogens into the chest, no matter what it is, is a no.

“I’ve been off it for a few weeks here in the Middle East and I’m feeling so much better for it.

“I’ve had pockets of difficulty with it, but what type of human being trying to get the best of themselves would inhale carcinogens into their chest cavity?

“It’s stupidity is what it is. You just have to say to yourself, do you run it, or does it run you?

“I feel better for it, albeit with a few pockets of difficulty, but when you stick with it and begin to get the better of it, you’re a different human being.”

I knocked out a UFC GOAT with ‘freaky power’ as underdog and it was better than any Rocky movie

Joshua Rogers — Sat, 18 Nov 2023 10:45:00 +0000

Holm vs Rousey, Weidman vs Silva, Bisping vs Rockhold II – just some of the biggest upsets in UFC history.

However, no underdog story quite rocked the sport like Matt Serra’s did when he knocked out MMA legend Georges St-Pierre at UFC 69 to win an improbable welterweight championship.

Matt ‘The Terror’ Serra defied the odds to secure one of the biggest upsets in UFC history

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At the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas, in 2007, Matt ‘The Terror’ Serra pulled off the unthinkable by dethroning reigning 170lb king, GSP.

At that time, Canadian St-Pierre was one of the biggest figures in the sport and the consensus best welterweight on the planet.

He was coming off the back off a dominant rematch victory over Matt Hughes at UFC 65 while Serra had amassed a 4-4 record since 2001 and had just about got through Chris Lytle in the finale of Ultimate Fighter: Comeback to earn a title shot against GSP.

Heading into the bout, Serra, a 5ft 6in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner, was rated as a 7/1 underdog by bookmakers.

GSP, who had an eight inch reach advantage over Serra and a 13-1 UFC record, was an 11-to-1 favourite, making the fight – at least on paper – one of the most uneven contests in UFC history.

Many experts and pundits said the outcome was a foregone conclusion, but Serra had other ideas.

With just over two minutes to go in the first round, Serra caught GSP with a looping right hand that caught the champ by surprise.

A dazed St-Pierre tried to regain his senses but, recognising his opportunity, Serra put his foot on the gas and continued to swing for the fences.

Serra caught GSP with an overhand right before pouring on the punches

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The 5ft 6in New Yorker became the welterweight champion of the world with his victory at UFC 69

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GSP scrambled to his feet and tried to evade the oncoming barrage but was on wobbly legs. Serra continued to connect with big blow after big blow before standing over the champion and raining down punches on him.

The fight was eventually stopped by referee ‘Big’ John McCarthy at 3:25 of the first round, giving ‘The Terror’ a stunning TKO victory over one of the UFC’s GOATs.

The pair met again in a rematch at UFC 83 a year later, where St-Pierre managed to avenge his first loss with a TKO victory.

GSP remained undefeated for the rest of his career and went on to win the middleweight title at UFC 217 after choking out Michael Bisping.

Serra, meanwhile, would only fight three more times in the UFC, two of which were defeats to Matt Hughes and Chris Lytle.

Although he never managed to reach the same dizzying heights as he did at UFC 69, Serra can still lay claim to the biggest upset victory in the promotion’s history.

Years later, Serra, who has been inducted into the UFC’s Hall of Fame, said his victory over GSP was just like a Rocky movie – but even better.

‘I’ve always said that I really, truly lived my ‘Rocky’ movie with that fight.” Serra told TMZ in 2018.

GSP would emerge victorious in the rematch with Serra in 2008

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“It had all the makings of a great movie, man. A Cinderella story, and all that stuff. Even better than ‘Rocky,’ ’cause ‘Rocky’ didn’t get the stoppage. He went the distance. That’s cool. But, ya know, I ended up stopping him.”

Earlier this year, Serra appeared on The Joe Rogan Experience podcast where the fight enthusiasts watched back his first fight with GSP.

“You had some crazy power”, Rogan told Serra. “I’m sure you still do but you really did then.”

As they watched the finish, Rogan said, “I mean it was freaky power. Watching Georges tap to strikes in this situation. This was a wild, wild upset.”

While his fighting days are behind him, Serra is still closely tied to the UFC. He co-owns a Brazilian jiu-jitsu school in New York and trains a number of current and ex UFC fighters including Al Iaquinta, Chris Weidman and former bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling.

However, he’ll always be remembered by fight fans for shocking the world against one of the all-time greats.

‘Virtual signalling twits!’ – Dana White’s UFC sponsor row over political views sparks epic Simon Jordan rant

Joe Moore — Thu, 16 Nov 2023 15:58:24 +0000

Simon Jordan was firmly in Dana White’s camp as he took aim at brands and ‘virtual signalling twits’ who try to force their agendas and causes onto the companies they sponsor.

It comes after the UFC chairman let rip in an expletive-laden rant about major sponsors of the MMA promotion company who asked him to tone down his political views online.

Jordan took aim at ‘virtual signalling twits’ – including Ben and Jerry’s ice cream!

talkSPORT

The American supremo revealed he told the sponsor to, ‘Go f*** yourself’, after they demanded he delete a video on his personal social media in support of Donald Trump.

He also vowed to throw out all Peloton training bikes out of his UFC gyms, after podcast host and comedian Theo Von revealed the company has pulled sponsorship of an episode that featured Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

White exploded: “Peloton, what do they sell, f***ing stationary bikes and they’ve got a problem with Robert f***ing Kennedy? F*** you Peloton! Who the f*** are they? Are you f***ing kidding me?”

The rant was brought up on Thursday’s White and Jordan show, and the former Crystal Palace owner couldn’t agree more with the UFC boss.

And he even had a rant of his own, aimed at a particular household brand…

talkSPORT pundit Jordan said: “Well, he’s absolutely right! These sponsors aren’t indexing themselves to UFC out of charity. They’re not doing it for goodwill.

“They’re doing it because the sponsorship revenue that they put into the industry has some sort of commercial benefit to them.

“So get back in your box, mind your own bleeding business and don’t sponsor it if you don’t want to. It’s absolutely preposterous!

White went on an expletive-laden tirade at Peloton – and Jordan says he was right!

“I’m tired of this nonsense in this world where we have to watch everybody attaching every single cause to their marketing campaign in the pursuit of telling people how they should think.

“Absolutely well done to Dana White. Maybe the language is a bit more robust than it needed to be, but he can express himself in a more articulate fashion. But quite frankly, chapeau!

“Whether you like Donald Trump and other people don’t like Donald Trump, that’s fine, but Dana White can do what he wants to do and reap the consequences of it. If that sponsor doesn’t like it, then they should go and sponsor something else.”

Asked by co-host Jim White what he would say if a sponsor of talkSPORT called him to say they weren’t comfortable about something he had posted on social media, he replied: “Would I say, ‘Go and do one’? Absolutely.

“I would say exactly the same thing [as Dana White]. I don’t think UFC is short of opportunities right now. I don’t think it’s craving its next dime.

“It’s a huge, successful format owned by Dana White. It has a massive growth potential. These sponsors aren’t doing it through charity, and precisely and concisely, Dana White is absolutely right to say it.

UFC president White attended UFC 295 in New York recently with Donald Trump… and Kid Rock

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“And if that sponsor says, ‘I don’t want to sponsor you anymore’, then I’m sure Dana White will take the consequences of that and he will get on with it.”

But Mr Jordan wasn’t done there, and it appeared he had a bit of a bee in his bonnet with Mr Ben and Mr Jerry, as he then turned his anger towards the famous American ice cream floggers.

“I don’t know who people think they are,” he continued. “I genuinely don’t know who people think they are.

“You have to listen to Ben and Jerry’s telling us what we should be doing in the world – get on with making bleeding ice cream!

“Virtual signalling twits!

“Every time you go in a supermarket, you’ve got to have some particular projection onto you as to what viewpoint you should have, and I’m tired of it!

“And I think, well, more people like Dana White and less people like those sponsors.”

UFC star Tom Aspinall accepts Noel Gallagher offer for Jon Jones ring walk – ‘I didn’t think he knew me!’

Joshua Rogers — Thu, 16 Nov 2023 13:13:41 +0000

Tom Aspinall is eyeing up his next fight fresh off becoming the UFC interim heavyweight champion.

The British MMA star knocked out Sergei Pavlovich in stunning fashion at UFC 295 in New York last weekend to lift the iconic belt.

Aspinall delivered a vicious knockout to Pavlovich to win the interim heavyweight belt

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Aspinall has already stated his desire for his next fight to be against UFC legend Jon Jones.

Aspinall fought for the interim title after heavyweight champ Jones was forced to pull out of his clash with Stipe Miocic due to injury.

It remains to be seen if UFC president Dana White books Jones vs Aspinall next, but if he does, Aspinall’s ring walk could be one for the ages – especially if Noel Gallagher gets his way.

The former Oasis singer appeared on talkSPORT this week where he professed his love for the UFC.

Gallagher also revealed he is a massive fan of Aspinall and would be down to perform the heavyweight’s ring walk for a potential Jon Jones fight.

Aspinall, who comes from Atherton, Greater Manchester, close to Gallagher’s roots in Longsight, says he’d ‘absolutely’ be up for it.

“I’m obviously a Manchester guy,” the 30-year-old exclusively told talkSPORT.com.

“I think basically everyone in the whole Manchester area is a fan of Oasis.

Gallagher says he’d love to perform Aspinall’s walkout in a fight with Jones

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“So absolutely. And to think he knows who I am – I didn’t even know that he knew who I was!

“That’s absolutely insane. So yeah, I’d love him there – if we could do that, that’d be incredible.”

After beating Pavlovich, Aspinall called for Jones to skip his bout with Miocic and face him instead.

In his post-fight press conference, he said: “I’ve seen Jon talking nice stuff about me on a podcast as well, it’s really nice.

“Obviously it’s always nice to hear nice things about you, but from someone like that who I massively look up to even more so.

“Thank you, Jon, and just give me the opportunity. Let me do it, give me my dream fight.

“I’ve just achieved my dream now, but give me my dream fight.

“Let me fight for my legacy now, please.”

The interim heavyweight champ wants Jones to skip his fight with Stipe to face him

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If the match-up does go ahead, the heavyweight wants it to take place at the AO Arena in his hometown Manchester.

“For me, it’s the Manchester Arena, 100 per cent,” Aspinall told talkSPORT.com and other reporters.

“The stadium fight would be great, of course, but I’m a Manchester guy so I would love it [my next fight] to be in Manchester.”

A legacy fight with Jones in a packed out AO Arena with Noel Gallagher performing the walkout really would be the stuff of dreams.

Dana White feels like a ‘superhero’ and reveals insane body transformation through 86-hour water fast

Joshua Rogers — Thu, 16 Nov 2023 12:23:52 +0000

Dana White is feeling indestructible after finishing an 86-hour water fast.

The UFC president showed off his insane body transformation after already levelling-up his physique in recent years.

White started his 86 hour water fast after UFC 295 on 11 November

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He completed the fast on Wednesday 15 November and showed off the dramatic difference

X - danawhite

White showed off the impressive before and after shots in a two-minute video shared to X, formerly Twitter.

The UFC boss captioned the post: “I did an 86 hour water fast and I feel INCREDIBLE!

“Obviously I’m not a doctor, but I’ve been told by the experts that water fasting can help to significantly reduce the risk of cancer, alzheimers and a ton of other health issues,” though he urged his followers on social media to conduct their own research as he merely pointed out it worked for him.

He added: “I feel like a superhero, I feel incredible, and I want to tell you how I did it.”

White revealed that he started fasting after he left UFC 295 on 11 November.

He says he completed the fast on 15 November before showing off the insane transformation.

The 54-year-old went on to reference an online seven-day water fast before claiming that doctors’ studies have shown the fast gives an individual an over 70 per cent chance to avoid deadly diseases such as cancer and Alzheimer’s.

White added that he sought the guidance of human biologist and bio hacking expert Gary Brecka who advised him throughout the fast.

The UFC boss got in incredible shape last year through his work with Brecka

Instagram @sandhumma

White’s 10-week transformation included going on a ketogenic diet which he says cured several ailments

“So, the first 24 hours, you drink water, and you can use that [electrolytes] in your water,” White explained. “Then, the next day, this is the cleanest broth that you can buy. This thing only has 45 calories, less than one gram of carbs, and it has like 13 grams of protein.

“So, all it really has is protein and 45 calories. That is the cleanest broth out available; chefs will tell you that. It’s Gary Brecka-approved.

“You can pick this up anywhere,” White went on.

“You do this twice a day for the next two days. You drink all your water with electrolytes, but you could do the broth twice a day, bone broth – the bone broth, twice a day for the next two days. You’re gonna feel incredible. And obviously, you’re doing it for the internal, but externally, you get absolutely shredded on this thing.”

After posting the video, White commented underneath: “Do you own research and talk to your own medical professionals, but I absolutely recommend it.”

White shocked the internet in 2022 when he revealed his ripped physique after undergoing a 10-week body transformation with the help of Brecka.

The UFC CEO was inspired to undergo the transformation after facing multiple health issues and discovering he allegedly only had 10 years to live.

White adopted a ketogenic diet and turned his health around which he says cured problems like sleep apnea, weight issues, and leg pain.

Whatever he’s doing seems to be working as he’s in phenomenal shape.

The Rock almost quit WWE to become an MMA fighter after finding out shocking pay gap

Joshua Rogers — Thu, 16 Nov 2023 10:23:12 +0000

Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson is one of the biggest superstars in WWE history.

Johnson has electrified audiences with his in-ring persona for decades and become one of the highest-grossing actors in the process.

Dwayne Johnson is no stranger to MMA and presented Jorge Masvidal with the ‘BMF’ belt at UFC 244

Getty Images - Getty

But things could have been very different, as he recently revealed on The Joe Rogan Experience podcast that he almost became an MMA fighter.

Johnson explained that during his early days as a professional wrestler, the low pay almost tempted him to train in MMA and compete in the PRIDE Fighting Championship in Japan.

“[In] 1997, I was still going to LA and working out. We were crossing all the MMA guys. PRIDE just opened up in Japan,” Johnson explained.

“I started seeing all these MMA guys going over to PRIDE. At that time, I was making $150,000 dollars wrestling 235 days a year. Do the maths on that and how much you’re making per match.

“We start hearing, ‘These guys in PRIDE are making $250,000, $350,000, $500,000.’ I thought then, ‘F***, I don’t think I’m going to make it in WWE. People are booing me out of the arenas. I can’t be myself. They’re telling me to f***ing smile, I don’t want to f***ing smile. That’s not who I am.’

Johnson went on: “I start talking to Ken Shamrock, I start talking with Mark Kerr, ‘tell me about PRIDE.’

“I have this idea in my head ‘maybe I should train in MMA, go to PRIDE, and make real money and I don’t have to smile.’

The Rock is one of the most popular in-ring personas in WWE history

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“I’m going to get f***ed up, knock one of my lungs loose [laughs], but if I find the right coach and train….I have this whole thing in my head. I’m talking to my wife at the time, ‘I think this is the way to go. I can make real money while these fans are booing me for $150 grand.'”

Fortunately for Johnson he made the right decision to stay with WWE, where became one of its biggest icons.

‘The Rock’ is 10-time world champion and has headlined countless WrestleMania events against legends of the sport.

It certainly would have been interesting to see him in MMA, or even the UFC, but things probably worked out for the best anyway.

Conor McGregor says rematch against ‘chicken’ Khabib is the dream and retirement was tough to take for Dana White

Joshua Rogers — Thu, 16 Nov 2023 09:45:00 +0000

Conor McGregor has been involved in some of MMA’s biggest ever fights.

However, the Irish superstar’s grudge match with Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 229 in 2018 remains the highest-selling bout in the company’s history.

Nurmagomedov and McGregor are bitter rivals

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McGregor lost the lightweight title fight via a neck crank in the fourth round and never got a chance to exact revenge – something he wishes he could.

The bad blood between the pair was palpable throughout the build up and spilled over after the fight when Khabib vaulted over the cage to ignite a riot.

The years since have done little to alleviate the ill will between the two fighters.

McGregor has continued to call for a rematch despite Khabib retiring from the sport in 2020 following his father Abdulmanap’s death.

The 35-year-old walked away with an unbeaten 29-0 record and put his efforts into coaching current lightweight champion Islam Makhachev before walking away from MMA entirely earlier this year.

However, for McGregor at least, there’s still unfinished business. During a recent Twitter AMA, he was asked which of his opponents he’d love to rematch.

Unsurprisingly, his answer was Khabib, whom he called “fighting’s biggest chicken”.

The Irish MMA legend has not fought since breaking his leg against Dustin Poirier at UFC 264 in July 2021.

McGregor still feels he has unfinished business with the Dagastani

McGregor was forced to tap out to Khabib during their lightweight title fight

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He has been lined up to face lightweight contender Michael Chandler on his return to the octagon but the fight remains in limbo.

McGregor and Khabib may not see eye to eye, but one person who has always spoken highly of ‘The Eagle’ is UFC president Dana White.

White recently appeared on Theo Von’s podcast ‘This Past Weekend’ where he revealed that Khabib’s retirement was the toughest of his UFC tenure.

“Khabib was a tough retirement”, he said. “Because I think Khabib had so much more to offer and so much more to accomplish. But I think when his dad passed away, it kinda sucked the fun out it for him and he was done.

“Plus he made so much f***ing money he never has to do anything ever again.”

Following his retirement, Nurmagomedov purchased Russian-based MMA promotion Gorilla Fighting Championship (GFC) for $1 million before re-branding it as Eagle Fighting Championship (EFC).

Hilarious footage shows Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand grappling with UFC champion Leon Edwards

Jake Lambourne — Wed, 15 Nov 2023 21:31:56 +0000

Leon Edwards took time out of his busy UFC 296 preparations by taking on Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand in a hilarious grappling contest.

And the welterweight champion will be hoping for a similar outcome on December 16 when he defends his title against rival Colby Covington.

Ferdinand was easily pinned by UFC champ Edwards inside the octagon

Edwards, who is coming off the back of back-to-back wins against Kamaru Usman, faced off against Ferdinand at the Team Renegade MMA gym in Birmingham.

Unsurprisingly, the TNT Sports pundit was no match for the 32-year-old, who was pinned down with ease.

The 2008 Champions League winner tried in vain to get out of Edwards’ grip, who effortlessly kept him on the canvas inside the octagon.

After a few seconds on top, ‘Rocky’ eventually let the 45-year-old go, with the pair all smiles following the light-hearted exchange.

Social media was loving the good-natured scrap, as one X user said: “Skill will always best size! Always!”

Another quipped: “Should of dropped an elbow.”

A third simply posted a fire emoji, clearly impressed by Edwards’ impressive technique.

Edwards recently stated he plans to move up to middleweight in the future in his quest to become the UK’s first UFC two-weight champion.

The pair were all smiles with Ferdinand no match for Edwards

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Speaking of what fighters are on his radar, he told Sky Sports: “Sean Strickland, or Dricus Du Plessis.

“Those two are fighting [for the middleweight title], so any one of them would be great.

“Now is perfect; me going out there being the first-ever double-champion from the UK is the way to do it.

“That’s on the cards for sure.”

David Goggins blown away by Tony Ferguson for being first athlete to complete legendary “Hell Week”

Joshua Rogers — Wed, 15 Nov 2023 18:04:44 +0000

Tony Ferguson has done what few others ever have – survive a David Goggins “hell week”.

‘El Cucuy’s’ limits have been well and truly tested by the former Navy SEAL and ultramarathon runner in the lead up to his fight with Paddy Pimblett at UFC 296 in December.

UFC star Tony Ferguson has left no stone unturned in his training with David Goggins

Instagram @davidgoggins

Goggins, a bestselling author and social media personality with over nine million followers on Instagram, has been sharing videos of himself putting Ferguson through the ringer over the past week.

Day 1 of “Hell Week” saw the UFC lightweight complete over three hours of gruelling high-intensity cardio, over 600 push-ups, and tons of chest exercises, bike, and rowing work.

Despite the brutal schedule, Ferguson has become the first person to successfully complete a Goggins “Hell Week” without quitting.

“Tony finished Hell Week today,” Goggins wrote in an Instagram video featuring Ferguson’s efforts over the last seven days. “I have had many people try yet he is the first one to get through it.

“I have had a lot of great athletes over the years want to train with me but for one reason or another, ‘something’
always miraculously comes up so they can’t complete it.

“There is a look I see on the faces of people who are on the brink of quitting called the thousand yard stare. They start asking questions- when is it going to end? What’s next? How many sets are left? Are we coming back again tonight? Is this healthy for you?”

He continued: “I broke El Cucuy on Day One, or at least I thought I did. I had him deep in the hurt locker and figured the questions were soon to be coming. I told Kish [Goggins wife] late that night ‘this motherf***** is done!’

The former UFC interim lightweight champion is on a six-fight skid

Instagram @davidgoggins

“But, I was wrong. He woke up on Day Two even more fired up to go. There was never a question asked. His response was always the same, ‘OK, Coach.’

“I was there for the rebirth of El Cucuy.

“It happened somewhere on the Jacob’s Ladder at around 11:11pm. I knew then that the torture I was putting him through was no longer torture.

“Sometimes when the fight is near, the warrior must go back home because home is where the hell began.

“My friends, Tony is home! Hello darkness my old friend.”

Ferguson’s brutal training regime has caught the eye of several UFC veterans including Chael Sonnen and Rafael dos Anjos, who have raised concerns about Goggins pushing him too hard.

But Ferguson is clearly prepared to do whatever it takes to end his six-fight losing streak.

The ex Navy SEAL says Ferguson is the first person to make it through his “Hell Week”

Instagram @davidgoggins

The former interim 155lb champ’s last win came against Donald Cerrone at UFC 238 in 2019.

‘El Cucy’s’ training methods have always been a little unorthodox, but his latest approach might just take the biscuit.

Conor McGregor answers question about Michael Chandler fight and wants UFC 300 involvement

Joshua Rogers — Wed, 15 Nov 2023 16:14:50 +0000

Conor McGregor has provided an update on his highly-anticipated fight with Michael Chandler.

Earlier this year the lightweight contenders coached on The Ultimate Fighter 31 ahead of a proposed fight, which is still yet to be announced.

McGregor has not been in the octagon since breaking his leg against Dustin Poirier in 2021

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After various delays, many fight fans were left wondering if the fight will happen at all.

However, in a recent Twitter AMA, McGregor says he remains confident a date for the fight will materialise.

Responding to a fan question about why the fight keeps getting pushed back, McGregor said: “I am confident we get the set date.

“There is no one holding no one back. A lot goes on behind the scenes but all involved are working hard to make it happen.”

The Irish MMA legend has been out of the octagon since July 2021 after breaking his leg against Dustin Poirier at UFC 264.

McGregor also had to complete six months of clean testing before he was eligible to fight again. The 35-year-old paved the way for his return in October 2023 when he reentered the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency’s (USADA) testing pool.

However, the development coincided with USADA announcing that it would be ending its partnership with the UFC in January 2024, casting fresh doubts over McGregor’s return date.

Speculation has been rife that McGregor could make his return at UFC 300, which still without a date or venue, but he is hopeful he is on the card.

He told a fan he was ‘in’ for the landmark event, posting a prayer emoji suggesting he was hopeful it could happen.

The former two-weight world champion also shared his thoughts on Chandler ahead of the proposed bout.

When asked if he likes Chandler, McGregor told a fan: ‘Yes, I think he is a good guy. Albeit I won’t get over connected to that like past. Emotionless. A working man with a job in front of him. A handy job hahaha’.

The 155lb star also teased a potential fourth fight with rival Poirier. ‘Let’s be real, it’s a must. Unfinished,’ he said.

It comes after McGregor’s coach John Kavanagh told talkSPORT that his fighter will ‘definitely’ make his UFC comeback during the first half of 2024.

“He’s training very regular now, he’s very committed”, Kavanagh said.

“We have no date set yet, but within the first half of next year he’ll definitely have his comeback

He added: “Conor just wants to fight.

“If you offered him a fight this Saturday, he’d take it.

“If it’s UFC 300, great!

“We just wanna get back in there, get busy, and hopefully get a few fights together.”

Tom Aspinall reveals dream venue for Jon Jones fight – and it’s not Wembley Stadium

Jordan Ellis — Wed, 15 Nov 2023 15:30:57 +0000

Tom Aspinall is already eyeing a homecoming fight in 2024.

The UFC star from Atherton became the interim heavyweight champion with a sensational knockout win over Sergei Pavlovich at Madison Square Garden on Saturday night.

Just 69 seconds was all Aspinall needed to beat his toughest opponent yet

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During his post-fight press conference, Aspinall implored Jon Jones to skip over a legacy bout with Stipe Miocic and find out who is the best heavyweight in MMA instead.

If that matchup comes off, the 30-year-old wants it to take place at the AO Arena in Manchester, despite talk of Wembley Stadium hosting the UFC’s next UK event.

“For me, it’s the Manchester Arena, 100 per cent,” Aspinall told talkSPORT.com and other reporters during a virtual scrum on Wednesday.

“The stadium fight would be great, of course, but I’m a Manchester guy so I would love it [my next fight] to be in Manchester.”

The AO Arena holds 21,000 people but will soon be rivalled by Co-Op Live – a new indoor venue in Manchester that will be capable of holding 23,000 fans when it opens next April.

Aspinall will fight in either, but he has his heart set on headlining a card in his home city after taking multiple trips to London, Abu Dhabi and America during his UFC career.

He added: “I know they are building a new arena as well, which is going to be next to The City Ground and is going to be bigger than the Manchester Arena.

“So, if we could do that at some point next year, that would be absolutely insane.”

The famous Manchester venue recently hosted a massive crossover event

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It appears a UFC stadium show is now a real possibility

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UFC CEO Dana White has hesitated to book a UK stadium show but seemed to be coming around to the idea after Aspinall joined Leon Edwards as an active champion in MMA’s premier promotion.

“Yeah, I could,” he said when talkSPORT.com asked if he would be open to the idea of promoting a British stadium show at the UFC 295 post-fight press conference.

“I love the O2 [Arena] but we’ll see. We’ll see how [Aspinall] progresses and what happens.

“It’s pretty awesome to have a heavyweight champion from the UK.”

While a stadium show is now in play, it appears Aspinall will be pushing his bosses to bring an event to the North West for the first time since UFC Liverpool in May 2018.

The new champion will enjoy some well-deserved downtime with his family before returning to the Octagon – hopefully against Jones in Manchester – early next year.

Angry Dana White has Peloton bikes thrown out UFC gyms and hits back at major sponsor over Donald Trump in X-rated rant

Joshua Rogers — Wed, 15 Nov 2023 14:06:30 +0000

Dana White is never one to mince his words.

During an appearance on comedian Theo Von’s ‘This Past Weekend’ podcast, the UFC CEO hit back at sponsors over his public friendship with Donald Trump and called for all Peloton bikes to be thrown out of his UFC gyms.

The UFC president attended UFC 295 in New York recently with Donald Trump and Kid Rock

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The combat sports president blasted the stationary bike company after Von revealed the company reportedly pulled ads on his podcast with Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

“Peloton, what do they sell, f***ing stationary bikes?” White said in the expletive-laden tirade. “Peloton sells stationary bikes, and they’ve got a problem with Robert f***ing Kennedy.”

“F*** you Peloton! Who the f*** are they? Are you f***ing kidding me?” he continued. “F***ing Peloton, calling, b****ing about Robert Kennedy.”

Von and White then pulled up the company CEO Barry McCarthy’s LinkedIn page before going in on him.

White then said that he wanted his UFC gyms to remove all its Peloton bikes.

“We’re getting rid of the Pelotons,” he said. “Pelotons are out of the gym.”

However, a Peloton spokesperson disputed the claim and told Fox News Digital that the company asked for its ads to be pulled from the 2021 episode featuring Kennedy due to the company’s ‘brand safety guidelines’.

White then went on about his own experiences with advertisers who attempted to censor him over his friendship with former US president Donald Trump.

White has been vocal about his support for Trump and considers him a friend

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“I posted a video for Trump on my personal social media,” White said. “One of our big sponsors called and said, ‘Take that down.’ You know what I said? Go f*** yourself.

The UFC president went on to say that due to the MMA company’s immense success he can now pick and choose who he does business with.

He cited the UFC’s deal with Anheuser-Busch – which will see Bud Light become the official beer of the sport in 2024 – as a company he feels ‘aligned’ with.

White went on an expletive-laden tirade at Peloton

“I’m at a point now in my life and my career where I want to be with people that I’m aligned with,” White explained.

“It’s not just about the money. It is about the money because it’s a sponsorship deal, but it’s not just [about the money]. I’m not going to take a bigger offer if it’s not something that I am aligned with and I don’t 100 percent believe in.

“When you do a sponsorship deal with somebody, you have to look deep into who they are and who’s running the company, who’s making the decisions, and are you aligned?”

Tom Aspinall shares footage of freak injury suffered in sparring days before UFC triumph

Lee Davey — Tue, 14 Nov 2023 15:16:52 +0000

Tom Aspinall has revealed how a freak back injury almost ended his hopes of becoming UFC interim heavyweight champion.

The British star pulled off a stunning victory over Russian Sergei Pavlovich in the co-main event of UFC 295 in New York on Saturday.

Aspinall knocked out Pavolvich in the first round to become interim heavyweight champion

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However, in the lead up to the clash, Aspinall suffered a back injury leaving him unable to train and considering pulling out of the fight.

“I just wanted to get one good spar under my belt before we basically leave and travel to the US,” he told The MMA Hour.

“This was in the fourth round of sparring. Never experienced anything like it before.

“I just had a crazy back spasm, and my back just seized up. Nothing really even happened, and my back just stiffened up really badly.

“I was basically unable to work out from that point onward. ‘It did get a little better, and luckily, my team was amazing and just shifted everything around so I could get some really good treatment. For a couple of days there, I just like, ‘s***, what am I going to do?’

“I’ve accepted the fight, the world knows about the fight now, and I can’t move,” he added.

“We got stuff working, but seriously, nearly the worst-case scenario out there. No training camp, and then the small training camp that we did within the two weeks, I couldn’t really participate in most of the stuff I was doing, anyway.

“So yeah, it was wild. It was absolutely crazy. I didn’t have a visa. I had to do a million phones with the visa thing, the travel, and go to London a couple of times, which is the opposite side of the country from where I live. So it was absolutely crazy.

“It was just some freak thing that went on for a week,” he explained. “It was really, really weird. It’s not like an ongoing injury. Everything’s fine. But it was just like my back seized up. A lot of anxiety over the last couple of weeks, to be honest.

“But I’ve been doing a lot of, I don’t want to say soul-searching, I’ve been doing a lot of knowing where I’m at, and finding what I’m like as a person.

Aspinall (black t-shirt) keeled over after picking up a back injury whilst sparring

The Brit may not return to action until UFC 300 next spring

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“Ultimately, this is what draws me to this sport is, I want to find out what I’m like as a person. What is Tom like when s*** goes south?

“And a lot of stuff has been going south for me in this build up, a lot of obstacles are coming my way. But as I kept saying in the pre-fight interviews, I know one thing for sure, I’m definitely not going to win the fight by watching it on TV.”

For now, Aspinall is enjoying the aftermath of victory with no immediate plans to return to action with Jon Jones out with a long-term injury.

Next up for the Brit could be UFC 300 next spring in what is likely to be a huge card for the milestone event.

Conor McGregor’s return delayed until ‘next summer’ as coach outlines UFC plans

Phil Spencer — Tue, 14 Nov 2023 15:06:55 +0000

Conor McGregor eagerly-awaited UFC return has been pushed back once again as he targets a summer comeback, according to John Kavanagh.

Notorious spoke out in late October and revealed that he was targeting April for his comeback fight, however that date has now been pushed back.

Notorious hasn’t fought since July 2021 after breaking his leg against Poirier

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McGregor has been out of action since July 2021 when he suffered a serious leg break in a first round defeat to Dustin Poirier, leading to an extended spell on the sidelines.

On October 8, McGregor re-entered the UFC’s drug-testing pool with USADA, meaning that he would be able to fight again from April 8 next year after recently submitting his first test since returning to the program.

However, according to longtime coach Kavanagh of SBG Ireland, that date has been pushed back.

Speaking on The MMA Hour, he said: “We were hoping for April. That was the hope.

“That was what we were told. And now it seems to be the summertime.

“I don’t know [why]. That’s literally what we were having a bit of a back and forward [about] today.”

Asked about what impact the delay could have no his mental health, Kavanagh said: “Well, I was [worried about his mental health] too, I’m not going to lie. But hearing him today, he’s out there finding this great group of training partners — at least he’s doing that.

“Hey, it’s not quite the same as getting in to compete in front of a large crowd, but at least he’s getting training in, and that’s so important. We heard Volk talk about that, ‘Keep me busy,’ and all that. So I love to hear that he’s training hard with these guys.

McGregor is desperate to get back into the thick of it but may have to wait until next summer

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“But look, and this is what I was saying to him as well — yeah, OK, it’s a knock back if we’re hearing it was April but now it’s July, but it’s not the end of the world.

“It is an extra couple of months. It’s not great. But hey, you’re enjoying your training at the moment. Let’s just keep that going.

“But the sport, you are around for such a short time as compared to — well, I’m not going to try to make a comparison to other sports or whatever, but like our careers, we can do this for decades. For fighters, is a short time.”

Conor McGregor made UFC history but was raging and gave iconic post-fight interview

Callum Vurley — Mon, 13 Nov 2023 13:31:02 +0000

Conor McGregor’s bold post-fight interviews have often become blockbuster hits in their own right but one might go down in history.

In 2016, McGregor ruled the UFC as king and proved it in the Octagon when he became the first person to hold two titles in different weight classes at the same time.

McGregor made UFC history in 2016 by becoming the first UFC star to become a simultaneous two-weight champion

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His victory over Eddie Alvarez to land the lightweight title at Madison Square Garden saw him land the belt, adding to his featherweight title by knocking out Jose Aldo in 13 seconds.

And the Notorious did so in remarkably simple fashion, dropping the defending champion three times before stopping the contest after 3:04 of the second.

With the adrenaline still running through his veins, McGregor delivered an unforgettable moment after his win.

He made have made history, but he was fuming at having to wait for his belt.

“They should have had both those belts ready and spit-shined for me. It’s never been done before,” he told commentator Joe Rogan who was trying to interview the UFC history maker.

As Rogan tried to interview McGregor, he did not appear to be too fussed about having a chat and was more interested in holding his two titles on his shoulders.

Already dressed in his featherweight belt, the UFC legend went on an x-rated rant.

“Where the f*** is my second belt? I’ve already got this one.

He finally got the belts and liked what he saw

“Where’s the second one at, cheap motherf*****? $4.2 billion this company was sold for. Where’s that second belt? Go backstage and grab that motherf*****.

“I already won and they’re trying to take that one on me already. What the f***?”

Then, eyeing himself on the big screen when finally holding both, shouted ‘oh yeah that looks good’.

But it was the post-fight interview that has since become legendary.

“I’ve spent a lot of time slaying everyone in the company,” he told Rogan.

“Backstage I’m starting fights with everybody. I’ve ridiculed everyone on the roster.

“And I’d just like to say from the bottom of my heart, I’d like to take this chance to apologise… to absolutely nobody!”

Draped in the Irish flag, he blew the roof off the place.

He then made a load of money from boxing Floyd Mayweather in 2017, which he lost and couldn’t get back in the win column on his return to the cage in 2018.

His bitter rival Khabib Nurmagomedov submitted him in their lightweight title match at UFC 229, an event more memorable for the brawl afterwards.

He’s not fought since his loss to Dustin Poirier in 2021 but fans need him back behind the microphone soon.

Dana White considers signing Deontay Wilder to UFC after boxing superstar talked up MMA transition

Jordan Ellis — Mon, 13 Nov 2023 01:05:48 +0000

UFC CEO Dana White is open to promoting Deontay Wilder’s mixed martial arts debut.

The former heavyweight champion boxing is expected to take on Joseph Parker in Saudi Arabia on December 23 before facing Anthony Joshua at some point in 2024.

Wilder is on the cusp of booking two big fights – but he wants to try a new sport

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However, he recently caused a stir by claiming he is interested in testing himself in MMA – but he insisted he has no desire to walk away from his first sport entirely.

“I’m thinking about doing both, UFC and boxing. To keep the activity alive and keep it going,” Wilder told Blue Bloods TV.

“I’ll be a dangerous man in the UFC, bro. With those four-ounce gloves?

“I broke the f***ing hitting bag machine with those four-ounce gloves on. That was some real stuff.

“I could see myself in [the UFC]. I think I want to tie it to the competitive side of me, wanting to do both.

“Get in there and just show the ability and talent of what I could do.

“I don’t think there’s nothing cooler than being a champion in both. Have the titles at the same time, too.”

White was intrigued about the possibility of a boxing superstar crossing over to a sport that has recently been abandoned by many fighters, including Francis Ngannou, seeking big paydays in the square circle.

White appears to be excited about the potential of a Wilder UFC fight

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The boss hinted to talkSPORT and other media members at the UFC 295 post-fight press conference on Saturday night that a deal could be struck between his organisation and Wilder.

White said: “It’s interesting, you know what I mean?

“You never see this s*** happening. You never see the boxers going, ‘I want to come over there and fight in the UFC.’

“So, we’ll see what happens.”

Boxing legend James Toney was famously dominated when he crossed over to the UFC for a fight with former two-weight world champion Randy Couture in August 2010.

Wilder will be hoping to put up a much better fight whenever he makes his UFC debut – but only time will tell if White can offer him a deal worth putting his boxing career on hold for.

Monster Energy is the official energy drink of the UFC.

Conor McGregor makes shocking comment about Khabib Nurmagomedov’s late father after UFC rival’s cousin fails drug test

Jordan Ellis — Mon, 13 Nov 2023 00:27:25 +0000

Conor McGregor has reignited his rivalry with Khabib Nurmagomedov after a member of the Russian’s family recently received a doping ban.

On Saturday, Bellator lightweight champion Usman Nurmagomedov had his unanimous decision win over Brent Primus overturned to a no-contest following a failed drug test.

McGregor quickly deleted several posts he made about the Nurmagomedov family

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The California State Athletic Commission issued the undefeated fighter with a six-month ban and $50,000 fine because he tested positive for an undisclosed banned substance just days before his Bellator 300 main event on October 6.

“I am not one bit surprised upon hearing another of the Nurmagomedov team testing positive for steroids. Hypocrites of the highest order,” McGregor tweeted in response to Usman’s drug test result.

‘Notorious’ went a step further in a follow-up post as he brought up Nurmagomedov’s – who is a devout Muslim – faith and made an out-of-line comment about his late father.

“He added: “Steroids are HARAM!

“The shame of Allah hangs over the Nurmagomedov clan.”

“Cheaters! Abdulmanap is doing tumbles in his grave.”

The 29-0 retired UFC star is yet to comment on his cousin failing a drug test or that face McGregor has attempted to use it as a stick to beat his family with.

However, Usman recently took to social media to insist he’s not a drug cheat and attempt to explain away his failed test as a lapse in judgement.

Usman Nurmagomedov will not be stripped of his Bellator belt

Bellator

McGregor is disgusted but not surprised by a member of the Nurmagomedov’s failing a drug test

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“I would like to give a comment regarding the latest news on my suspension,” the 25-year-old wrote in a post to his Instagram followers.

The results of my test revealed a prohibited substance that entered my body through medications, prescribed to me by a doctor.

“A few months before my fight, I was undergoing treatment, but unfortunately, I did not notify the Athletic Commission in advance.

“I would like to note that the California State Athletic Commission conducted its own full investigation, where I provided all the necessary documents, doctor notes, and medical certificates, thanks to which the period of my disqualification was reduced to 6 months, instead of longer suspensions accepted in such cases.

Stipe Miocic stares intently at Tom Aspinall while Logan Paul and Michael Bisping are blown away by huge KO

Michael Benson — Sun, 12 Nov 2023 14:36:54 +0000

Tom Aspinall sent shockwaves around Madison Square Garden when he knocked out Sergei Pavlovich on Saturday night.

The British star KO’d his opponent after just one minute and nine seconds of the first round of their fight at UFC 295 in New York.

Aspinall made his dreams come true in New York

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The victory crowned Aspinall as the UFC’s ‘interim’ heavyweight champion.

He is just the third Brit to ever win a UFC belt, after Michael Bisping and Leon Edwards.

Aspinall was fighting for the ‘interim’ strap after Jon Jones’ clash with Stipe Micoic was cancelled due to an injury for Bones.

The current heavyweight champion sent his congratulations to the 30-year-old on social media.

Jones wrote: “Tom congratulations on the interim heavyweight championship belt! That was an awesome performance!”

Miocic did not need to send a message on social media, his reaction was clear to see at ringside.

Footage shared on the UFC’s social media pages showed the MSG arena erupting once Aspinall secured his KO win.

Bisping was ecstatic to see the finish.

Miocic had an ice cold reaction

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Logan Paul, also sat cageside, looked blown away.

However, when the camera panned to Miocic, he was stoic and staring intently up at Aspinall.

Aspinall responded to the praise from Jones with a message as he said at his post-fight press conference: “I’ve seen Jon talking nice stuff about me on a podcast as well, it’s really nice.

“Obviously it’s always nice to hear nice things about you, but from someone like that who I massively look up to even more so.

“Thank you, Jon, and just give me the opportunity. Let me do it, give me my dream fight.

“I’ve just achieved my dream now, but give me my dream fight.

“Let me fight for my legacy now, please.”

How many Brits have won a UFC title? Tom Aspinall joins elite group after incredible knockout to win interim heavyweight belt

Jack Johnson — Sun, 12 Nov 2023 14:30:31 +0000

Tom Aspinall became a UFC champion on Saturday night as he beat Sergei Pavlovich at UFC 295 in New York.

The Brit was handed the opportunity to fight for the interim heavyweight title after Jon Jones picked up a horrific injury in training only weeks before the event.

Aspinall made his dreams come true in New York

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Aspinall took the chance and his decision to step into the octagon paid off as he knocked out Pavlovich in stunning fashion inside 69 seconds.

He broke down in tears and lay on the floor as soon as the bout was waved off as the emotions poured out for all to see.

The 30-year-old has now joined an elite group of British fighters who have managed to get their hands on a title…

How many British fighters have won a UFC title?

Aspinall has become only the third British fighter ever to become a UFC titleholder.

He achieved the rare feat by winning the interim heavyweight belt at Madison Square Garden.

The fan favourite now sits alongside legend Michael Bisping and welterweight champion Leon Edwards as the only Brits to have held a UFC crown.

Bisping won the middleweight belt from Luke Rockhold in a thrilling rematch seven years ago, becoming the first fighter from the UK to win a title.

Bisping was the first British UFC champion

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Edwards then beat Usman to win the welterweight title

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Edwards then followed in his countryman’s footsteps to win the welterweight title from Kamaru Usman at UFC 278 in 2022.

‘Rocky’ has since retained his champion status by beating Usman again earlier this year and he is now set to face Colby Covington in December.

Bisping was watching on from the side of the octagon as he looked blown away at the knockout while celebrating Aspinall’s win in New York.

He praised his fellow Brit who admitted his fear and said thank you to his father post-fight, saying: “It’s been a crazy two and a half weeks.

“He’s a big scary guy. I’ve never been as scared in my life as fighting this guy but you know what? I’ve got a lot of power too and I believe in myself. I really believe in myself.”

“This man right here, my father, has worked harder than anybody.

“So, this belt right here is dedicated to my father.”

‘Come to Daddy’ – Alex Pereira calls out Israel Adesanya following controversial light heavyweight title win at UFC 295

Jordan Ellis — Sun, 12 Nov 2023 05:27:33 +0000

Alex Pereira sent a message to Israel Adesanya immediately after becoming a two-weight champion at UFC 295.

The former middleweight titleholder knocked out Jiri Prochazka in controversial circumstances to win light heavyweight gold before using his post-fight mic time to call out his long-time rival.

Pereira closed the show in style

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Prochazka tried to close the show in round two after seemingly buzzing his opponent with a powerful right hand that backed him to the fence.

Pereira responded to the worrying moment with a short uppercut that floored his rival who quickly popped back to his feet and tried to wrestle.

‘Poatan’ hurled a flurry of elbows at the side of his opponent’s head and veteran referee Marc Goddard called off the fight when they caused Prochazka to fall backward.

UFC commentators Joe Rogan and Daniel Cormier thought the stoppage was a little premature, as did many MMA fans who were watching along on social media.

However, Prochazka admitted during his post-fight interview that he was in no fit state to continue – but that didn’t stop people debating the legitimacy of Pereira’s second title win.

The Brazilian is just the eighth UFC fighter to win championships in two weight classes, following Randy Couture, B.J. Penn, Conor McGregor, Daniel Cormier, Georges St-Pierre, Amanda Nunes, and Henry Cejudo.

Pereira did it quicker than anyone. All he needed was seven fights with the company and 11 bouts in the sport of MMA after transitioning from kickboxing.

The 36-year-old was more interested in looking ahead than reflecting on the monumental thing he had just achieved at Madison Square Garden.

He sent a message to Adesanya

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Prochazka took his first UFC loss in stride

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Pereira sent a message to his long-time rival, ‘The Last Stylebender’.

He said: “I’m not the type of guy to call people out but there’s a guy that back in the day [who] did some interviews and said I was a guy who was just going to stay in the bar.

“That motivated me. He rescued me from a bar to be here today.

“This guy said he just wants to come back and fight in 2027. I think he’s a very talented guy. It’s a waste of talent so I want to rescue him too, to come here and fight.

“I know that I’m not going to do what he did to me too and make me fight three times to fight him at middleweight. I know it’s a guy we have a lot of history.

“I want to make this fight happen. Adesanya, come to Daddy.”

Monster Energy is the official energy drink of the UFC.

Alex Pereira defeated Jiří Procházka with a 2nd round finish! #UFC295 pic.twitter.com/cGUQhcSDqr
— UFC on TNT Sports (@ufcontnt) November 12, 2023

Tom Aspinall breaks down in tears after becoming champion with vicious knockout win over Sergei Pavlovich at UFC 295

Jordan Ellis — Sun, 12 Nov 2023 04:46:41 +0000

Tom Aspinall cried with joy after realising his world title dream.

The British fan favourite brutally knocked out Sergei Pavlovich in one round to become the interim heavyweight champion at UFC 295 in New York on Saturday night.

Aspinall is just the third British champion in UFC history

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Aspinall got an early taste of the power that had his Russian rival riding a six-fight win streak that saw him KO every opponent in the very first round.

The 30-year-old got his head knocked back but showed he takes a shot better than Derrick Lewis, Tai Tuivasa, and Curtis Blaydes by eating it without issue.

Boxing champion Tyson Fury, an old sparring partner of Aspinall’s, would’ve been proud of the head movement his fellow Englishman showed to avoid taking any more shots in the fight.

The man who will look to unify the UFC’s heavyweight division against MMA legend Jon Jones next year ultimately closed the show in 69 seconds.

Two massive right hooks sent Pavlovich tumbling to the floor before Aspinall followed up with a series of savage ground strikes to finish him off.

Overcome with joy, Aspinall began crying and even took a moment to lay on the Octagon floor and hide his face from those inside Madison Square Garden.

During his post-fight interview with UFC icon Joe Rogan, he used his moment in the spotlight to give credit to his father and coach, Andy Aspinall.

‘The Honey Badger’ handed off his new belt to the man who quit his high-paying job to train his 12-year-old son in MMA after seeing he had world-class athletic potential – 18 years later his instinct was proven right.

The 30-year-old broke down in tears in the cage

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Aspinall heaped praise on his father

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“It’s been a crazy two and a half weeks,” Aspinall said.

“He’s a big scary guy. I’ve never been as scared in my life as fighting this guy but you know what? I’ve got a lot of power too and I believe in myself. I really believe in myself.

“This man right here, my father, has worked harder than anybody.

“So, this belt right here is dedicated to my father.”

Watching on was Michael Bisping, one of now three British UFC champions, and the former middleweight king was ecstatic.

As Aspinall made his way from the arena, he spotted Bisping who embraced the new champion like a proud dad.

Monster Energy is the official energy drink of the UFC.

TOM ASPINALL KNOCKED OUT SERGEI PAVLOVICH TO BECOME THE NEW INTERIM UFC HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION!!! #UFC295 pic.twitter.com/ZxfTwbf3gp
— UFC on TNT Sports (@ufcontnt) November 12, 2023

‘USA! USA! USA!’ – Crowd goes wild as former US President Donald Trump makes grand arrival at UFC 295

Jordan Ellis — Sun, 12 Nov 2023 03:33:57 +0000

Donald Trump got the biggest cheer of the night at UFC 295.

The 45^th U.S. president entered Madison Square Garden in New York just moments before the UFC’s 30^th-anniversary show main card got underway.

Trump walked into the arena alongside the UFC boss and Kid Rock

TNT SPORTS/UFC

Trump’s entrance was beamed onto the big screen and his presence was greeted by a massive roar of cheers from those inside the venue.

The round of applause continued as he made his way to his seat before a chant of ‘USA’ erupted when he finally sat down alongside UFC CEO Dana White and musician Kid Rock to take in his latest MMA event.

A few minutes later, several celebrities and fighters featured on the Megatron before Trump mouthed the words ‘Thank you’ when his second cameo was greeted with deafening support.

UFC 290 was the last time he attended a show run by his long-time friend.

The 77-year-old got a similar reaction when his grand arrival was broadcast to fans inside the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas to watch Alexander Volkanovski and Yair Rodriguez in a featherweight unification fight.

It was the same story at UFC 287 in April. Trump’s presence was met by a huge ovation from the UFC fans before he took his cageside seat alongside boxing legend Mike Tyson.

The UFC boss, who spoke for Trump at the Republican National Convention in 2020, previously explained his relationship with the divisive reality TV star-turned-politician.

“This guy has been so good to me it’s unexplainable,” White told Tucker Carlson while recalling his speech for Trump.

The politician is a massive MMA fan

AFP

Trump often shows up at UFC events to support his pal

Getty Images - Getty

“He’s been a very good friend to me since the day I met him. When we bought this company it had such a bad stigma attached to it and the sport that we couldn’t even get into venues, they didn’t want us.

“Donald Trump saw that this thing could possibly be big, plus he’s a sports guy who loves sports, and he offered us to come do the event at the Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City.

“He cut us a very fair deal and we went down there and did two events with him where he showed up for the first fight and stayed until the last fight.

“Imagine back then; Trump brand is way up, UFC brand is way down, but he took us in, and he was great.

“Everything that ever happened to me in my career after that day, the first guy to reach out and say congratulations was Donald Trump; whether it was a letter or one time we were on the cover of the New York Times.”

Monster Energy is the official energy drink of the UFC.

DONALD TRUMP HAS ARRIVED! #UFC295 pic.twitter.com/tcREA2aTKd
— UFC on TNT Sports (@ufcontnt) November 12, 2023

UFC stars dance together in Octagon after bloodbath ‘Fight of the Year’ ends with shock result

Jordan Ellis — Sun, 12 Nov 2023 02:06:59 +0000

Nazim Sadykhov and Viacheslav Borshchev danced together in the middle of the Octagon after their UFC 295 fight ended with a shock decision.

After three rounds of pulsating action at Madison Square Garden in New York on Saturday night, neither man walked away victoriously as the judges scored the fight a majority draw.

Borshchev showed he has a granite chin at UFC 295

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They both seemed content, but the scorecards were met with boos from fans who had packed out one of the world’s most iconic arenas for the UFC’s 30th-anniversary show.

However, disappointed groans were soon replaced by laughter when Sadykhov and Borshchev began dancing with each other to lighten the mood.

It topped off a brilliant scrap that may be crowned ‘Fight of the Year’ when 2023 is said and done.

The lightweight bout burst into life in round two when Sadykhov landed a massive head kick that dropped his rival and seemingly signalled the beginning of the end of their fight.

However, Borshchev survived the heavy knockdown and several minutes of brutal follow-up attacks from his Azerbaijani opponent.

In round three, the Russian fighter started to land with combinations and seemed to be on the verge of scoring what would’ve been a monumental come-from-behind victory.

Sadykhov was forced to show grit to see out the final round.

Two of the three judges couldn’t split the fighters, while the dissenting official scored the exciting UFC 295 preliminary bout 29-28 in favour of Sadykhov.

The Russian rallied in the third frame

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The fight ended in a rarely-seen draw

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Fans soon took to social media to praise both men who have earned a legion of new supporters with their performances and post-fight dance show.

Combat sports reporter Adam Catterall tweeted: “UFC at MSG delivering a fight of the year contender AGAIN.”

Someone else said: “Give them both 50k.”

A third person added: “Draw is a fair result. What a war!”

Another fan wrote: “Fight of the night for sure!”

It seems a rematch is likely to happen in 2024.

For now, Sadykhov and Borshchev will enjoy some well-deserved time off before heading back to train for what promises to be an eagerly anticipated second scrap.

Monster Energy is the official energy drink of the UFC.

Give it up for these two warriors!

At the end of an absolute slugfest, this one is declared a majority draw. #UFC295 pic.twitter.com/JGaFjBtZPn
— UFC Europe (@UFCEurope) November 12, 2023

Bare-knuckle MMA fighter suffers horrific facial injuries during 101 second knockout loss

Jordan Ellis — Sun, 12 Nov 2023 00:28:44 +0000

Jason Knight is almost unrecognisable after being knocked out in less than two minutes during his debut in bare-knuckle mixed martial arts.

On Friday night, the 31-year-old squared off against fellow UFC veteran Randy Costa on a card promoted by former BMF champion Jorge Masvidal.

Knight was a bloody mess after his fight with Costa

Gamebred bareknuckle

The usually tough American landed a few punches of his own but was simply overwhelmed by Costa’s combinations and precision as he was wiped out in just 101 seconds.

Post-fight, Knight took to social media to react to his latest loss, but it was the picture that accompanied his post that caused a stir among his followers.

The man who holds wins over Dan Hooker, Artem Lobev, and Thiago Moises, was almost recognisable as his face was swollen and covered in blood.

Fans flooded his comment section to commend him for a brave performance.

UFC commentator Jon Anik said: “Warrior. Respect always.”

Someone else added: “You’re a legend bro, as game as they come.”

A third person wrote: “Respect mate, went out on your shield, never in a boring fight!”

The following day Knight returned to Instagram looking a lot healthier as he sent a message to everyone who had wished him well after his worrying initial post.

Fans were concerned when he posted a health update from hospital

But the next day he was looking a lot better

Jason Knight - Instagram

He captioned the post: “I just want to say, thank you for all of the love and support that everyone has showed no way in hell will I ever get a chance to reply to everyone but all the love is very much appreciated,”

“Head held high. I went out on my shield as always!! Jorge Masvidal thank you for the opportunity! Randy Costa f*** you very much. Good job last night buddy enjoy your victory you definitely earned it!!”

Costa replied: “Hahah. You’re the man Jason.

“Class act brother. Was a fan before and will forever be a fan going forward. Speedy recovery and sending all the love to you and yours. Was an honor bro…”

Knights’ future in the sport appears to be uncertain after such a brutal loss.

Only one thing is for sure, he’s got a long and painful recovery process to go through before he can even consider returning to the cage for another scrap.

How to watch UFC 295: TV channel and live stream info as Tom Aspinall gets interim title shot in New York after Jon Jones injury

Jack Cunningham — Sat, 11 Nov 2023 17:58:00 +0000

Jiri Prochazka and Alex Pereira will headline UFC 295 tonight after Jon Jones vs Stipe Miocic was called off.

‘Bones‘ is one of UFC’s main attractions and was set for a huge clash in New York but suffered a horrific injury in training and had to pull out.

Jones will not be fighting at UFC 295 after his injury

AFP

Jones tore his pec off the bone ahead of the fight and now requires surgery and eight months out of the octagon.

Instead, Prochazka will face Pereira for the vacant light heavyweight belt in the main event while Britain’s Tom Aspinall is now on the card.

Aspinall has the chance to win the interim heavyweight title when he comes up against Sergei Pavlovich in the co-main event.

UFC 295: How to watch

UFC 295 is set to take place on Saturday, November 11 and is being held at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

In the UK, the action will get underway at midnight, with the main event scheduled for 4am on Sunday morning.

The prelims and whole main card will be broadcast on TNT Sports 1 from 1am.

TNT Sports subscribers can also tune in via the discovery+ app to watch the action on their laptops or mobile devices.

Alternatively, fans can watch using the UFC Fight Pass, which costs 6.99 per month or £71.99 for the whole year.

Aspinall is now fighting for the interim heavyweight title

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UFC 295: Fight card

Subject to change

Main Card

MAIN EVENT: Jiri Prochazka vs Alex Pereira – for vacant UFC light heavyweight title
Tom Aspinall vs Sergei Pavlovich – for interim heavyweight title
Jessica Andrade vs Mackenzie Dern
Matt Frevola vs Benoit Saint-Denis
Diego Lopes vs Pat Sabatini

Preliminary Card

Steve Erceg vs Alessandro Costa
Tabatha Ricci vs Loopy Godinez
Mateusz Rębecki vs. Roosevelt Roberts
Nazim Sadykhov vs. Viacheslav Borshchev

Early preliminary Card

Jared Gordon vs Mark Madsen
John Castaneda vs Kyung ho Kang
Joshua Van vs Kevin Borjas
Jamall Emmers vs. Dennis Buzukja

Why is Jon Jones not fighting at UFC 295? Gruesome footage shows moment ‘Bones’ suffers horrific injury to derail Stipe Miocic bout

Sean O'Brien — Sat, 11 Nov 2023 17:58:00 +0000

Jon Jones will not be in action at UFC 295 tonight after ‘tearing his pec from the bone’.

UFC president Dana White confirmed Jones’ highly-anticipated heavyweight title fight against Stipe Miocic is off as a result of the horrific injury Jones suffered in training.

Jones tore his pec in training

This weekend’s card will now see British fighter Tom Aspinall face Sergei Pavlovich for the interim heavyweight title as a co-main event with Jiri Prochazka vs Alex Pereira.

White said: “Jon Jones was training last night, got injured, he was wrestling and he tore the tendon that connects your pec to the bone, off the bone. Eight months, going to need surgery. He’s out.”

The UFC chief shared footage of ‘Bones’ wrestling with a sparring partner before clutching his chest in serious discomfort.

It derails what was likely to be the biggest UFC fight of the year, which was set to take place in New York’s Madison Square Garden.

His injury has now opened a door for Aspinall

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Jones was hoping to cement his legacy the greatest MMA fighter in history against Miocic, who is the consensus best heavyweight.

It remains to be seen whether Jones, now 36, will reschedule the fight in 2024 after at least eight months on the sidelines.

Many expected the Miocic showdown to be the American’s final appearance in the Octagon.

While the news comes as a hammer blow for fight fans, it presents a huge opportunity for Aspinall.

The Brit returned to the winner’s circle with victory over Marcin Tybura in March and could now position himself for a shot at the heavyweight crown.

Tom Aspinall at UFC 295: Where is he from, what is his record and can Brit become world champion this weekend?

Jack Cunningham — Sat, 11 Nov 2023 17:57:00 +0000

Manchester’s finest Tom Aspinall is back in action tonight at UFC 295 as he takes on Sergei Pavlovich in the co-main event.

This will be Aspinall’s second fight since suffering a freak knee injury during a bout against Curtis Blaydes in 2022.

Aspinall’s comeback fight saw him easily beat Marcin Tybura

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The heavyweight was one of the brightest prospects around before that unfortunate blow.

And he will now hope to make light work of Pavlovich to continue rising up the UFC rankings.

Where is Aspinall from?

The 30-year-old was born in Leigh, Greater Manchester.

Aspinall started martial arts as a seven-year-old, following his father’s footsteps.

He picked up Ju Jitsu before also getting involved in boxing and wrestling.

From there, the transition into mixed martial arts was easy, and Aspinall embarked on a career in MMA.

Aspinall is stacked

Getty

What is Aspinall’s record?

The Manchurian has fought professionally in boxing and MMA.

He boasts a 100 per cent KO record in boxing, having fought once and knocked out his opponent.

But he decided that MMA was the way forward and proved to be a fearsome competitor, leading to UFC signing him.

He made his debut in July 2020.

Aspinall fought Jake Collier and wiped him out inside one round with a flurry of brutal punches.

He followed that up by taking down Alan Baudot just two months later.

Three more victories followed to set up a huge fight against Blaydes that ended horribly for the Englishman.

But his return earlier this year saw him knock Marcin Tybura out inside one round.

That win extended his UFC record to 6-1-0.

Aspinall’s knee injury ended his title hopes

getty

Can Aspinall become a world champion this weekend?

This weekend, Aspinall will fight for the UFC interim heavyweight title.

Essentially, he will become a placeholder to ensure the division keeps moving.

The reason it’s only interim is because UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones has been ruled out for a significant period of time due to a gruesome injury.

Once Jones is fit, he will face the holder of the interim belt to unify the two and regain his place as world champion.

So this is a huge opportunity for Aspinall to eventually become world champion.

Dana White reveals astonishing amount Power Slap is worth just nine months after its first event

Cameron Temple — Sat, 11 Nov 2023 17:14:24 +0000

Dana White seems to have a serious money maker on his hands in the form of his Power Slap league.

The UFC president White has been the owner of Power Slap since 2022, with it’s first event taking place in March earlier this year.

White is all in on the sport of slap fighting

@da_hawaiian_hitman - instagram

The sport has been criticised due to safety concerns with some fighters suffering brutal knockouts without the ability to defend themselves.

But, commercially, Power Slap has been a huge success, as White explained on the Rock Sugar Magic podcast: “This thing is a f***ing juggernaut.

“Everybody thought I was full of s*** in the beginning.

“But, if you take the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, UFC, WWE, NASCAR, Formula One, PGA and a couple others I can’t remember, you combine all their social media numbers together and multiply it by four, Power Slap beats them.”

White continued: “In nine months I have an unbelievable amount of sponsors.

“This thing and I haven’t said this publicly to anybody, this is a $450million business in nine months.

“Globally, we’re doing 400 million views in India, we’re doing 90 million views in Russia, 40 million views in Brazil, the list goes on and on.

“This thing is a f***ing juggernaut.”

Dillon Danis says he will retire from fighting if Dana White doesn’t sign him for the UFC

Cameron Temple — Sat, 11 Nov 2023 16:48:58 +0000

For Dillon Danis, it’s UFC or nothing.

The MMA fighter has said he will retire from combat sports if UFC president Dana White doesn’t sign him to the organisation.

Danis is done with fighting if he doesn’t join the UFC

Dillon Danis - Instagram

Danis’ expertise is in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and he has had two fights under the banner of MMA company Bellator, winning both, with the last of those two fights coming in June 2019.

Most recently, Danis competed in boxing against social media star Logan Paul and while he lost, he took home a purse of more than a million dollars.

Next up, Danis is determined to join the UFC, as he told Ariel Helwani during a live recording of the MMA Hour: “I’m gonna tell Dana White, I don’t care who it is, just give me anybody.

“If they don’t do it then I’m gonna retire and then I can just chill.”

Helwani then suggested joining the PFL, a rival organisation to the UFC, but Danis was not interested, before saying: “I don’t need the money, I’m good.

“I made enough money from the Logan fight, we made a lot of money, trust me.”

And Danis also said he is not interested in taking the route of going through White’s ‘Contender Series’, which was the pathway for current UFC bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley.

“I’d rather retire, bro,” Danis said.

“I’m not Sean O’Malley, I’m bigger than him. I have the most followers than any welterweight in all of MMA.”

As for who Danis wants to fight, he has called out Britain’s Paddy Pimblett on a number of occasions.

Although, Pimblett already has a fight scheduled with UFC veteran Tony Ferguson at UFC 296 in December.

After that, Danis’ ideal plan is to fight Pimblett on the UFC 300 card next year, which his friend and training partner Conor McGregor is rumoured to be headlining against Michael Chandler.

UFC 295 LIVE: UK start time, full fight card and how to follow as Brit heavyweight Aspinall battles for interim title after Jones injury

Jack Cunningham — Sat, 11 Nov 2023 11:54:00 +0000

British heavyweight star Tom Aspinall has been added to the revamped UFC 295 card in New York City tonight.

The blockbuster event at the iconic Madison Square Garden venue was due to be headlined by Jon Jones’ showdown with Stipe Miocic.

Aspinall has already beaten Spivak

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‘Bones’, who is one of UFC’s biggest names and boasts an excellent 27-1-0 record, was looking to make the first defence of his heavyweight title against Miocic.

But the American suffered a gruesome injury in training that will require surgery and sideline him for the next eight months.

Jones’ injury has opened the door for the other title fight on the night to be promoted to main-event status as Jiri Prochazka takes on Alex Pereira for the vacant light heavyweight strap.

The MSG card will also now see British fighter Aspinall face Sergei Pavlovich for the interim heavyweight title as a co-main event.

UFC 295: Date and how to follow

UFC 295 will take place on Saturday, November 11 at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

The action is set to get underway at midnight for UK fans, with the main event set to start at around 4am on Sunday morning.

The prelims and main card will be shown on TNT Sports 1 and UFC Fight Pass. More details here.

Jones has only fought twice since 2020

AFP

UFC 295: Fight card

Subject to change

Main Card

MAIN EVENT: Jiri Prochazka vs Alex Pereira – for vacant UFC light heavyweight title
Tom Aspinall vs Sergei Pavlovich – for interim heavyweight title
Jessica Andrade vs Mackenzie Dern
Matt Frevola vs Benoit Saint-Denis
Diego Lopes vs Pat Sabatini

Preliminary Card

Steve Erceg vs Alessandro Costa
Tabatha Ricci vs Loopy Godinez
Mateusz Rębecki vs. Roosevelt Roberts
Nazim Sadykhov vs. Viacheslav Borshchev

Early preliminary Card

Jared Gordon vs Mark Madsen
John Castaneda vs Kyung ho Kang
Joshua Van vs Kevin Borjas
Jamall Emmers vs. Dennis Buzukja

UFC 295: What has been said?

Aspinall’s world-class potential was first spotted by his father, who walked away from a lucrative job in order to help harness his son’s athletic ability and eventually open a Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) school.

“I did 25 years in IT,” Andy Aspinall told talkSPORT.com.

“I was a contractor for a long time making good money and then I was an IT manager.

“I got offered a redundancy payment that I didn’t have to take, but Tom was very good at jiu-jitsu and there weren’t many jiu-jitsu schools open.

“I just decided to teach jiu-jitsu and hoped that Tom at 12, and my other son at 9, would teach jiu-jitsu because they’d have a career then.”

UFC 295 title challenger Tom Aspinall suffered shocking knee injury at London event before sharing pint with rival

Jordan Ellis — Sat, 11 Nov 2023 09:00:00 +0000

British UFC contender Tom Aspinall will return to the Octagon this weekend looking to claim heavyweight gold and cap a brilliant return from a sickening knee injury.

Aspinall has made a remarkable comeback to the title scene as he gears up to face contender Sergei Pavlovich for the interim heavyweight title at UFC 295.

The UFC London main event was over before it begun

getty

The Salford-born star stepped into the card in New York at Madison Square Garden after heavyweight champion Jon Jones suffered an injury ahead of his bout with Stipe Miocic.

And ironically it was a horror injury of his own that Aspinall suffered last year that threatened to curtail his path to a title shot in 2023.

He squared off against Curtis Blaydes in the main event of the UFC’s UK event last year in a fight that was expected to have title ramifications, but things went badly wrong.

After an innocuous early exchange, Aspinall dropped to the floor in agony after suffering an apparent knee injury.

Veteran referee Herb Dean immediately stepped in and waved off the fight just 15 seconds after it began, disappointing the thousands of fans in attendance who had hoped to see the Englishman pick up his sixth UFC win.

“Morning everybody, today is surgery day. I’m in London right now and I’m absolutely starving because I can’t eat before surgery,” Aspinall said in a video posted to his Twitter account.

“I have suffered a torn MCL, a torn meniscus, and some ACL damage.

A tearful Aspinall had to be escorted out of the Octagon

getty

“So, gonna get that fixed today but just a quick message to say thank you for the support. I really appreciate it. I’ve had so much love since the accident.”

The 6ft 5in Brit was riding high heading into UFC London after picking up five stoppage wins since joining the promotion in 2020.

In March 2022, he submitted Alexander Volkov inside one round before going on a two-day drinking bender to celebrate but four months later Aspinall was drowning his sorrows after suffering his first UFC loss.

In a beautiful moment of sportsmanship, Blaydes went to visit his stricken opponent post-fight and the two men shared a beer which apparently softened what was a massive blow for the man from Atherton.

The UFC heavyweight fighters bonded over a beer after the unfortunate end to their match-up

@phildefriesmma - instagram

Exactly one year later, the 30-year-old returned to the scene of the crime and exercised his demons by quickly knocking out perennial contender Marcin Tybura.

Aspinall appeared to need at least one more win before he was considered a title contender again.

But this time an unfortunate injury has presented him with an amazing opportunity rather than taking it away.

Aspinall could become just the third British fighter to win a UFC title, following in the footsteps of MMA legend Michael Bisping and current welterweight king Leon Edwards.

Tom Aspinall squares off with Sergei Pavlovich after weighing heavier than ever ahead of UFC 295

Jordan Ellis — Fri, 10 Nov 2023 23:10:56 +0000

Tom Aspinall and Sergei Pavlocich shared an intense staredown before their clash at Madison Square Garden on Saturday night.

The British fan favourite and streaking Russian contender have been friendly with each other in the build-up to their fight at UFC 295, but things got serious 24 hours before the scrap.

Pavlovich and Aspinall are two of the biggest punchers in MMA

Getty

Aspinall was drafted in on short notice to face Pavlovich for an interim heavyweight title when Jon Jones got injured and derailed his UFC 295 fight with fellow legend Stipe Miocic.

The 30-year-old stole the show at Thursday’s pre-fight press conference as he gave himself a new nickname, joked about the size of his body parts, and debuted a new ‘sexy’ shirt.

On Friday morning, Aspinall hit the scales at a career-high weight of 261.6lbs – he weighed 258lbs for his fight against Marcin Tybura in July.

Pavlovich came in slightly lighter at 259.8 for what’s being billed as a pick ‘em fight between two of the most exciting heavyweights in the sport.

A few hours later, they headed to the iconic arena where they’ll fight.

Fans from New York and around the world gathered to watch those competing on the UFC’s 30th-anniversary card at the ceremonial weigh-ins.

Many more will pack out the venue for UFC 295 tomorrow night.

Hopefully, they’ll witness a third British fighter being crowned a champion in MMA’s premier promotion and add to the successes of Michael Bisping and Leon Edwards.

‘The Honey Badger’ is heavier than even ahead of UFC 295

Getty

UFC 295 weigh-in results

Jiri Prochazka (204.2) vs. Alex Pereira (204)

Sergei Pavlovich (259.8) vs. Tom Aspinall (261.6)

Jessica Andrade (116) vs. Mackenzie Dern (115.6)

Matt Frevola (155.6) vs. Benoit Saint-Denis (156)

Diego Lopes (145.4) vs. Pat Sabatini (145.8)

Alessandro Costa (125.4) vs. Stephen Erceg (125.6)

Loopy Godinez (115) vs. Tabatha Ricci (115.4)

Mateusz Rebecki (155.8) vs. Roosevelt Roberts (158)

Viacheslav Borshchev (154.8) vs. Nazim Sadykhov (155.6)

Jared Gordon (155.6) vs. Mark Madsen (155.6)

John Castaneda (137.6) vs. Kyung Ho Kang (138)

Kevin Borjas (125.8) vs. Joshua Van (125.8)

Dennis Buzukja (145.6) vs. Jamall Emmers (147)

Monster Energy is the official energy drink of the UFC.

Marlon Vera scoffs at support from ‘idiot’ Henry Cejudo ahead rematch with Sean O’Malley

Jordan Ellis — Fri, 10 Nov 2023 21:36:16 +0000

Marlon Vera reacted to Henry Cejudo predicting he will soon become a champion by branding the former flyweight and bantamweight titleholder an ‘idiot’.

Earlier this week, Dana White announced that ‘Chito’ will face bantamweight king Sean O’Malley in an eagerly anticipated rematch at UFC 299 on March 9.

Vera’s rivalry with O’Malley dates back several years

The pair met for a face-off in New York after previously clashing in a famous fight at UFC 252 in August 2020 – one Vera won by a first-round stoppage.

After that, O’Malley beat four contenders to earn a title shot before knocking out Aljamain Sterling inside two rounds at UFC 292 earlier this year.

Meanwhile, Vera has won five of his seven fights since then.

UFC legend Jose Aldo and Cory Sandhagen have fairly recent victories over him, but they weren’t enough to derail his grudge match with O’Malley.

Vera is expected to enter his first title fight as an underdog, but he has the backing of ‘Triple C’ who believes O’Malley will wilt when the going gets tough at UFC 299.

“Vera beats him just based on endurance,” Cejudo said on his YouTube channel.

“A guy like Sean O’Malley hasn’t gone through the trenches. He hasn’t gone through the who’s who. Yeah, he’s got a controversial win, which still, I don’t believe he beat [Petr] Yan.

“Then he’s got one that he happened to throw a right hand and he caught Aljamain Sterling. Was it an early stoppage? Yeah, I’m not here to complain.

O’Malley will defend his bantamweight title for the first time against the only man to beat him

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Vera doesn’t want support from Cejudo

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“What I’m saying is he hasn’t been through the trenches against really tough guys, and I do believe ‘Chito,’ if he can just do the same gameplan as he did his last fight and take out his legs, it’ll be the exact same outcome.”

The Ecuadorian fight star dismissed Cejudo despite being supported by the UFC legend who is also a respected up-and-coming coach.

“He’s an idiot,” Vera told talkSPORT.com during the grand opening of the Monster Energy Bodega at Madison Square Garden on Friday afternoon.

“I don’t want to hear what he has to say about me.

“He’s a f***ing little s*** talking s***.”

It seems another grudge match with Cejudo could happen in 2024.

Only if Vera proves the MMA icon right by adding another win over O’Malley and a UFC title to his list of accomplishments early next year.

‘He was ahead of everybody’ – UFC legend Royce Gracie names surprise fighter as best ever

Jordan Ellis — Fri, 10 Nov 2023 14:16:52 +0000

Royce Gracie snubbed every UFC star ever when naming the greatest MMA fighter of all time.

The UFC legend is currently in New York ahead of the promotion’s 30^th anniversary show at Madison Square Garden on Saturday night.

Gracie is from a family of BJJ practitioners and he represented on the world stage

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Thirty years ago, he introduced the world to ‘The Gentle Art’ of Brazilian jiu-jitsu by winning the UFC’s inaugural event on November 12, 1993.

The MMA pioneer, who was just 26 at the time, used his submission grappling skills to defeat three opponents during a tournament designed to discover the best martial art.

Gracie went on to win the UFC 2 and UFC 4 tournament. After emerging victoriously from his first bout at UFC 3, he withdrew from the competition due to exhaustion and dehydration.

Today, he is regarded by many as one of MMA’s best-ever fighters.

UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones is often hailed as the sport’s greatest legend, but he does have rivals in Georges St-Pierre, Khabib Nurmagomedov, and Conor McGregor.

However, the 56-year-old overlooked them all as he named his father, Helio Gracie, as MMA’s ultimate fighter before backing up his surprising choice with a detailed explanation.

“He was way ahead,” Gracie told talkSPORT.com when asked who he thinks is the greatest fighter of all time ahead of the UFC’s anniversary show.

“My father was way ahead of everybody, not as a fighter but as a self-defence style.

Helio created a system that allowed him to beat much bigger opponents

@realroyce - instagram

It is now known worldwide after his son’s UFC success

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“You put a smaller guy and he defends himself against somebody who is bigger and stronger.

“You see it’s not the same way of fighting. You take all the rules out. No time limit, no gloves, no weight divisions, fighting three or four fights in one night.

“It was my father; he was ahead of everybody.”

Helio is often called the ‘Godfather of BJJ.’

Gracie is a true pioneer of the sport celebrating its 30th anniversary this weekend

@realroyce - instagram

Along with his brothers Oswaldo, Gastao Jr, George, and Carlos, he founded and developed the martial art system of Gracie jiu-jitsu which ultimately helped his son dominate in the UFC.

Helio first put his skills to the test in 1932 when he fought national boxing champion Antonio Portugal. Gracie took him down and finished the bout with an arm-lock in 40 seconds.

Some of his fights ended in a draw after going 10 10-minute rounds, including a clash with judo specialist Takashi Namiki, and a wrestler who weighed 67lbs heavier than him.

Helio suffered the first defeat of his career in 1951 when he was submitted by an opponent who was 77lbs heavier and ended up finishing him with an arm-lock known today as the kimura.

Four years later, he returned from retirement to face a former student.

The 43-year-old was knocked out by Waldemar Santana, 26, at the end of the longest fight in history – it lasted an incredible 3 hours and 43 minutes.

A dozen years later, Helio made another comeback and picked up a submission win before retiring for good, teaching the world about BJJ and allowing his sons to take the spotlight.

In 2009, Helio passed away at the age of 95, but his legacy still looms large and it’s hard to argue with his son’s assertion that he is the best fighter ever.

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I quit high paying job to teach my son MMA in our back garden – now he’s set for world title fight at UFC 295

Jordan Ellis — Fri, 10 Nov 2023 12:45:00 +0000

Tom Aspinall’s world-class potential was first spotted by his father.

The British mixed martial arts star hopes to become the interim heavyweight champion by beating Sergei Pavlovich at UFC 295 in New York on Saturday night.

Pavlovich and Aspinall came face-to-face for the first time on Thursday in what will be the biggest moment of their careers

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Aspinall’s journey to the top of his sport started 18 years ago when his dad walked away from a lucrative job in order to help harness his son’s athletic ability and eventually open a Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) school.

“I did 25 years in IT,” Andy Aspinall told talkSPORT.com.

“I was a contractor for a long time making good money and then I was an IT manager.

“I got offered a redundancy payment that I didn’t have to take, but Tom was very good at jiu-jitsu and there weren’t many jiu-jitsu schools open.

“I just decided to teach jiu-jitsu and hoped that Tom at 12, and my other son at 9, would teach jiu-jitsu because they’d have a career then.”

It was a bold move, but one that worked out as Andy’s eldest is now one of the UFC’s biggest stars, and his other son, Joe, makes a living teaching BJJ.

He added: “I had some money then, so it was alright. I’m glad I did it.

“Not just for Tom’s fighting. I’m glad I did it because I didn’t like the environment [in my old job]. I don’t like politics and I like the quiet life. This has been the quiet life.”

Aspinall is one of the UK’s leading BJJ coaches

Aspinall BJJ

He helped his son become a UFC superstar

UFC

However, Aspinall’s long journey to the pinnacle of MMA wasn’t without its hiccups and he needed a helping hand to push through when times got tough.

From training in his back garden to changing sports and overcoming injuries, the 30-year-old contended with a multitude of issues but managed to overcome them with the help of his father.

“A couple of times he’d given up,” Andy admitted.

“He didn’t want to fight MMA because there was no opponents.

Aspinall is on the cusp of becoming the UK’s third UFC champion

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“He didn’t want to train at the gym because it was too far to go every day and he didn’t want to do it because there was no one to train or fight with.

“We went boxing and he had one pro fight.

“And then, he didn’t want to fight because he didn’t like the boxing model. He didn’t want to fight people and get a padded-out record, he wanted to fight people who were equal to him.

“So, he stopped boxing.”

He’ll fight at one of the world’s greatest venues after starting his career in Andy’s garden

Tom Aspinall - instagram

Despite his rocky road to the UFC, Aspinall’s dad insists he always knew his son had elite-level athletic ability and would ultimately reach the pinnacle of his chosen sport.

En route to Madison Square Garden on Saturday, he has seen off big names in Alexander Volkov and Andrei Arlovski.

“He was 12,” Aspinall Sr. proudly replied after being asked exactly when he knew his son had world champion potential.

“He used to win lots of jiu-jitsu competitions, so I just knew he could be really good at something where you take instruction.

“It could’ve been Rugby League. It could’ve been a range of sports and it just happened to be MMA.”

It’ll be a proud moment for the 60-year-old when his son features at the UFC’s 30^th anniversary show in a potentially life-changing fight this weekend.

Ultimately, Andy is just like any other dad – he wants to see his son happy, healthy, and rewarded handsomely for putting his life on the line for people’s entertainment.

He concluded: “I’m just there to help him make as much money as he can.

“I don’t think money is the objective for doing it. I think he does want to be the best at what he does and then the money will just come, hopefully.”

Footage of Sergei Pavlovich getting knocked out cold by Alistair Overeem reemerges ahead of UFC 295 fight with Tom Aspinall

Jordan Ellis — Fri, 10 Nov 2023 12:30:00 +0000

Fans haven’t forgotten about Sergei Pavlovich’s disastrous debut.

The Russian heavyweight has earned himself an interim title fight with Tom Aspinall at UFC 295 by putting together a remarkable run of six consecutive first-round knockout wins.

Pavlovich is the UFC heavyweight divisions boogeyman

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However, Pavlovich has not enjoyed a perfect run since joining the UFC in 2018.

The 31-year-old got the call to compete in MMA’s premier promotion after winning his first 12 fights and he was matched with a faded legend who was riding a two-fight losing streak – Alistair Overeem.

Pavlovich’s road to UFC stardom appeared to be laid out, but Overeem rolled back the years and showed there is still some fight in the old dog during the UFC’s inaugural event in China five years ago.

The UFC 295 star showed brief glimpses of his ability as he landed a few big shots and grappled well with Overeem before eating a right hand and being taken down.

Once he was on his back, Pavlovich seemed to have no answer for his opponent’s ground attacks and he was quickly knocked out by a series of solid shots.

The 6ft 3in fighter Aspinall describes as the ‘scariest guy in the UFC’ took several unnecessary punches while out cold on the canvas after his first and only MMA loss.

A drop down in level allowed him to shine as he stopped Marcelo Golm in just over a minute a few months later before having similar results against Maurice Greene and Shamil Abdurakhimov.

Pavlovich was ready to face another title contender and this time he took out the UFC’s most prolific knockout artist of all time, Derrick Lewis, in just 55 seconds.

Overeem vs Pavlovich was hotly contested on the feet

AFP

But the Russian was KO’d in seconds when the fight hit the floor

AFP

Amazingly, he managed to outdo himself in his next fight as he knocked out another top contender, Tai Tuivasa, in just 54 seconds to continue his frightening run of stoppages.

Curtis Blaydes put up more of a fight but only survived three minutes before he was taken out by Pavlovich, who improved his record to 18-1 when they fought in April.

At this point, it was clear who the number one heavyweight contender was, but Jon Jones opted to defend his title against MMA legend Stipe Miocic instead.

After ‘Bones’ suffered an unfortunate injury and his fight with Miocic was scrapped, Pavlovich was given a late-notice opportunity to become a world champion at Madison Square Garden in New York this Saturday.

Aspinall has been almost as impressive during in the UFC and his only defeat came courtesy of a devastating knee injury during an event in London last year.

He’ll be hoping to replicate Overeem by knocking out Pavlovich and becoming just the third British champion – after Michael Bisping and Leon Edwards – in UFC history this weekend.

UFC 295 odds, card plus free bets on talkSPORT BET

Tom Lunn — Fri, 10 Nov 2023 12:03:00 +0000

UFC 295 stars this weekend for the main event of Jiri Prochaszka vs Alex Pereira in New York at the legendary Madison Square Garden.

And talkSPORT BET has a huge offer for the fight where you can bet £5 and triple your winnings up to £300!

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UFC 295 preview

It’s not just the main event that appeals this weekend as Tom Aspinall is also in the Octagon late on Saturday night against Sergei Pavlovich as they battle for the interim heavyweight title.

Both fighters in the main event are very evenly matched on paper in regard to age, height, weight and reach.

The Czechian fighter has the slight benefit of a 1 inch longer reach and is five years younger than the Brazilian but has a plethora of experience over Pereira too.

With 29 wins, three losses and one draw in comparison to the Brazilian’s 8-2-0.

Despite more fights, he also holds a higher rate of knockouts and submissions.

Whereas Pereira’s game is evenly between knockouts and lasting the distance to claim victory by decision.

And that’s could be what edges him slightly in the lead in the betting but ultimately, it’s all to fight for this weekend with the odds barely being able to split them.

As is also the way for the penultimate fight before the main attraction.

Aspinall is also just about the odds-on favourite going into the weekend to beat the Russian but it’s incredibly open as both fighters are in great form.

The Russian has a 100% knockout record though and it’ll be likely that as a result, Aspinall goes for another submission win which he has won a fair few from.

The Brit has 13 wins and three losses while Pavlovich has as many as 18 wins and only one loss.

UFC 295 odds

To win fight:

Jiri Prochazka 6/5 vs Alex Pereira 4/6
Diego Lopes 1/1 vs Pat Sabatini 4/5
Matt Frevola 9/5 vs Benoit Saint-Denis 5/12

UFC 295 main card

MAIN EVENT: Jiri Prochazka vs Alex Pereira – for vacant UFC light heavyweight title
Tom Aspinall vs Sergei Pavlovich – for interim heavyweight title
Jessica Andrade vs Mackenzie Dern
Matt Frevola vs Benoit Saint-Denis
Diego Lopes vs Pat Sabatini

How to watch UFC 295

Date and Time: Saturday, 11th November 2023, from 9pm.
Location: Madison Square Garden, New York.
How to watch: TNT Sports 1 and UFC Fight Pass.

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Conor McGregor’s coach reveals ‘definite’ comeback timeline and outlines goal for 2024

Jordan Ellis — Fri, 10 Nov 2023 09:31:22 +0000

Conor McGregor’s coach has confirmed MMA’s greatest star will ‘definitely’ make his UFC comeback during the first half of 2024.

The former dual-weight champion hasn’t fought since breaking his leg during a trilogy bout with Dustin Poirier at UFC 264 in July 2021.

MMA has been without its biggest star for too long

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McGregor is booked to face lightweight contender Michael Chandler.

The two men filmed a series of ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ together and spent much of 2023 talking up their eagerly anticipated match-up.

Many believe they will clash in April of next year, and John Kavanagh, who has coached ‘Notorious’ since the start of his career, believes that is a likely scenario.

The SBG Ireland head coach also insisted his star pupil is fully committed to MMA despite the fact he often portrays himself as a party animal on social media.

“I wouldn’t get too lost in seeing something on Instagram and thinking, ‘Oh, he’s doing that every night,’” Kavanagh told talkSPORT.com.

“He’s training very regular now, he’s very committed.

“We have no date set yet, but within the first half of next year he’ll definitely have his comeback.”

UFC 300 is seen as the ideal return card, but Kavanagh believes McGregor will take the earliest opportunity he gets to finally step back inside the Octagon.

‘Notorious’ has been waiting for his comeback fight all year

@TheNotoriousMMA - Twitter

Kavanagh spoke with talkSPORT in New York ahead of UFC 295

TALKSPORT

He added: “Conor just wants to fight.

“If you offered him a fight this Saturday, he’d take it.

“If it’s UFC 300, great!

“We just wanna get back in there, get busy, and hopefully get a few fights together.”

UFC CEO Dana White has remained coy on McGregor’s exact fight date, but he recently announced pay-per-view main events for his first three shows of 2024.

It means the earliest ‘Mystic Mac’ will return is April, and the latest he will make his comeback, according to Kavanagh, is by the end of June.

Either way, it looks like it’ll be a very busy year for the MMA legend.

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Tom Aspinall rules out ‘d*** measuring’ contest with Sergei Pavlovich during hilarious UFC 295 press conference

Jordan Ellis — Thu, 09 Nov 2023 22:17:20 +0000

Tom Aspinall has ruled out having a ‘d***-measuring contest’ with Sergei Pavlovich – but only because he thinks he will lose.

The 30-year-old hopes to become the third British fighter to win MMA’s greatest title when he takes on Pavlovich for the interim heavyweight belt at UFC 295 on Saturday night.

Pavlovich and Aspinall came face-to-face for the first time on Thursday

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Ahead of the short-notice scrap, which was put together when a Jon Jones injury derailed his main event match-up with Stipe Miocic, Aspinall met his next opponent at a pre-fight press conference.

After distracting everyone with a ‘sexy’ new shirt, branding his head a ‘sniper’s dream’ due to its sheer size, and nicknaming himself ‘The Honey Badger’, the Englishman went on a hilarious NSFW rant about his upcoming fight.

“I’m not going to have a d*** measuring competition with him,” Aspinall said to a chorus of laughs from those inside Madison Square Garden for the press event.

“Both literally and figuratively, because he’d probably win both!

“We are going to see what happens, mate.”

Aspinall has repeatedly labelled Pavlovich the ‘scariest guy in the UFC’ in the build-up to their fight and it’s easy to see why when you examine the streaking star’s recent results.

Pavlovich was stopped by Alistair Overeem in his UFC debut but has since put together a six-fight win streak and KO’d all of his opponents in the first round.

So, that’s probably why a ‘d*** measuring’ contest is out of the question.

Pavlovich a prolific KO artist

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Aspinall understands the task in front of him at UFC 295

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Long-time contenders Tai Tuivasa, Derrick Lewis, and Curtis Blaydes are Pavlovich’s last three victims – but many believe Aspinall is a level above them.

Before he was derailed due to a freak injury, he beat former champion Andrei Arlovski and Alexander Volkov during an impressive five-fight title charge.

Aspinall will have picked up new fans with his show-stealing press conference antics and he has the chance to win many more – and UFC gold – with his fists this weekend.

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Conor McGregor almost started brawl when he angered rival in chaotic UFC press conference before making $100m

Jordan Ellis — Thu, 09 Nov 2023 14:30:00 +0000

Conor McGregor stole the show when the UFC first brought an event to New York in 2016.

Not only did ‘Notorious’ become the first dual-weight champion in company history at Madison Square Garden, but he also issued an iconic post-fight speech.

McGregor was the first of four UFC double champs

Zuffa LLC via Getty

The fun all started during a pre-fight press conference a few days earlier.

McGregor, who at this point was already a global superstar, was unsurprisingly late and the event began without UFC 205’s main attraction.

However, he soon turned up, danced his way onto the stage while wearing a ‘Gucci mink’ coat, and was ready to fight the lightweight titleholder a little early.

“Sorry I’m late, I just don’t give a f***,” McGregor said to a chorus of cheers.

The 35-year-old proceeded to take his opponent’s belt and almost start a brawl in the process.

Alvarez stormed toward McGregor and snatched his strap back, prompting ‘Mystic Mac’ to stand up and start a confrontation that threatened to get ugly.

‘The Underground King’ threw a chair in McGregor’s direction and he reacted angrily after interpreting it as an attempt to assault him in front of the world.

UFC CEO Dana White was joined by security who struggled to stop the Irishman from physically attacking Alvarez and trying to hurl the chair at his head.

McGregor’s fight with Alvarez quickly became a grudge match

‘Notorious’ tried to hit his opponent with a chair WWE-style

The MMA legend was temporarily carried off stage before returning and continuing to trade verbal shots with his rival who chastised his decision to collect social welfare before becoming a rich fighter.

Ultimately, McGregor got the last laugh when he knocked Alvarez out in a career-best performance before making $100 million for a subsequent fight with boxing icon Floyd Mayweather.

New York has hosted several massive UFC fights since then and will do so again on Saturday night when Jiri Prochazka and Alex Pereira’s light heavyweight title fight headlines the promotion’s 30th-anniversary card.

Britian’s Tom Aspinall will feature in the co-main event of the evening as he takes on streaking Russian knockout artist Tom Aspinall for the interim heavyweight title.

Fans will be hoping someone can emulate McGregor by creating several historic moments in the days before and during the latest ‘Big Apple’ UFC show.

I’ve sparred Tyson Fury and fought MMA’s best heavyweights but UFC 295 fight is scariest yet

Jordan Ellis — Thu, 09 Nov 2023 12:15:00 +0000

Tom Aspinall understands the massive task he faces at UFC 295.

The British star is set to fight surging contender Sergei Pavlovich in a short-notice interim heavyweight title fight at Madison Square Garden on November 11.

UFC 295 is one of the biggest cards of the year

ufc

Jon Jones was originally supposed to defend his heavyweight strap against Stipe Miocic, but their fight was cancelled after ‘Bones’ suffered a grim injury while preparing for the eagerly anticipated bout.

Aspinall first became known as a sparring partner for WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury but has since made a name for himself in MMA’s premier promotion.

The 30-year-old has beaten former champion Andrei Arlovski, and perennial contender Alexander Volkov during his 13-3 career in the sport he chose over boxing.

However, he recently claimed Pavlovich his ‘scariest’ opponent to date.

“I still think he’s the scariest guy in the UFC,” Aspinall told talkSPORT.com ahead of his interim heavyweight title shot.

“He’s just got a lot of power, he’s unpredictable, he’s a massive, scary, big Russian.

“What’s not to be scared of? He’s just a scary geezer, but I thrive on that fear. I like it.

“It keeps me extra sharp and I’m looking forward to it.”

Aspinall has impressed many during his UFC run

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Pavlovich has scared even more with his KO power

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Pavlovich was stopped by Alistair Overeem in his UFC debut but has since put together a run of six consecutive first-round knockout wins.

The 31-year-old became the number one contender at heavyweight by quickly dispatching of Tai Tuivasa, Derrick Lewis, and Curtis Blaydes.

Due to his rampant run through the division, Aspinall admits he’s struggling to poke holes in Pavlovich’s game ahead of their title fight.

He added: “I think it’s pretty tough to figure out his weaknesses because he’s just running through everybody, similar to what I am.

“I don’t think you can look at too many fights of his and go, ‘This is where he is bad.’ Because you can’t.”

“I was supposed to fight him twice before, so I know what he’s all about.

“I’ve just got to outsmart him. If I stand there and try to have a brawl with him, I’m going to get knocked out, it’s as simple as that.

“The guy is a massive puncher, so I’ve got to be on the move with him, gotta be mixing up my attacks and just be smart with him.”

Tom Aspinall takes on Sergei Pavlovich at UFC 295: Aspinall vs. Pavlovich on November 11^th live on TNT Sports.

Ex-MMA fighter chokes out knife-wielding attacker in terrifying footage

Callum Vurley — Wed, 08 Nov 2023 19:55:43 +0000

Former MMA star Javier Baez managed to subdue a knife-wielding attacker.

Terrifying footage emerged of Baez being confronted by the assailant before an altercation ensued.

Javier Baez was forced to defend himself from a knife-wielding attacker

The incident occurred at around 4am on Wednesday morning last week, hours after Halloween night.

The attacker had allegedly hit one of Baez’s car windows before trying to enter the vehicle, which the former MMA star was sat in.

Baez then tried to calm down the situation before the attacker, identified as 50-year-old Omar Marrero, produced another knife.

“Guy was out there screaming on the phone, literally was fighting for a while with some woman,” Baez told Miami’s CBS affiliate.

“He tapped on my door window. I told him to leave me alone, and then he came at me with a knife.

“I told him to leave me alone. I’m calling the cops. I hope he doesn’t break my window. That’s all I cared about.”

Baez, who had a 5-2-1 record in professional mixed martial arts, was charged at by the attacker.

It forced the 34-year-old to take action, blocking the attack before slamming the knife wielder into the ground in a pummelling move.

The former MMA star picked up the attacker and planted him into the ground

Whoa Javier Baez in Miami got attacked by some random with a knife but shows why wrestling is important to know pic.twitter.com/zxVcE2T3AW
— Terrance McKinney (@twrecks155) November 3, 2023

He then managed to disarm the assailant before choking him out, potentially saving his own life.

“When you train so many times, it becomes just a reflex,” Baez told Local News 10.

“Once it came to that, it’s all instincts. I couldn’t do much but just react.

“I’ve been training my whole life — black belt jiu-jitsu, wrestled in college, I’ve got eight pro fights, MMA masters. I’ve got great training partners.”

Baez has not fought professionally in MMA for five years in 2018, winning his last fight in 2016.

“I stayed calm, kept my balance, kept my composure,” Baez told CBS 4.

“Didn’t bring him down and start beating on. Just took him down.”

Sergei Pavlovich issues cheeky five-word response to Tom Aspinall labelling him ‘scariest guy in the division UFC’

Jordan Ellis — Wed, 08 Nov 2023 19:46:52 +0000

Sergei Pavlovich grinned as he responded to Tom Aspinall labelling him ‘the scariest guy in the UFC’ ahead of their fight.

The streaking Russian contender is set to face Aspinall in a short-notice interim heavyweight title fight at UFC 295 in New York on Saturday night.

Pavlovich is the UFC heavyweight boogeyman

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After agreeing to take the biggest fight of his life with no training camp, the British fan favourite talked up his opponent and the task in front of him.

“I know a s***load of people at the top that turned down Sergei Pavlovich and I’m out here taking him on two weeks’ notice,” Aspinall told The Mac Life.

“No questions asked, that’s the UFC. They asked me at 4am with no training camp and I’m like, ‘Yeah, no problem!’

“Didn’t ask about the contract, didn’t ask about the money, nothing.

“I just said yes. There’s not a lot of people that are doing that. I’ll fight this scariest guy in the UFC who no one else wants to fight.

“He’s knocking everyone out. I’ll do that, no problem. I think I should be getting some goddamn credit for it.”

Aspinall has repeated his claim several times ahead of UFC 295 and Pavlovich finally got the chance to respond to his opponent’s praise.

A smile beamed across the 31-year-old Russian’s face when he was asked to react to being repeatedly called ‘the scariest guy in the UFC.’

“Thank you very much, Tom,” Pavlovich told talkSPORT.com and other reporters via an interpreter at the UFC 295 media day on Wednesday.

Pavlovich was subsequently asked to describe his next opponent and his response suggested he has a high opinion of the man he must beat to become a UFC champion this weekend.

Aspinall understands the task in front of him at UFC 295

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He added: “I will say a couple of words. Tough dude!”

Pavlovich was stopped by Alistair Overeem in his UFC debut but has since put together a six-fight win streak and KO’d all of his opponents, including Tai Tuivasa, Derrick Lewis, and Curtis Blaydes, in the first round.

Aspinall returned to the Octagon in July after a year-long injury layoff that derailed his impressive heavyweight title charge.

The Englishman could become just the third British fighter to win a UFC belt, following in the footsteps of MMA legend Michael Bisping and current welterweight king Leon Edwards.

Monster Energy is the official energy drink of the UFC.

Tom Aspinall reveals advice Michael Bisping has given him ahead of short notice title fight at UFC 295

Jordan Ellis — Wed, 08 Nov 2023 17:06:10 +0000

Tom Aspinall will have the words of one of MMA’s greatest legends ringing in his ears when he fights this weekend.

Former UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping has given him some tips after picking up his career-best win under similar circumstances.

Aspinall could become the third UK UFC champion this weekend

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The British superstar is set to face streaking contender Sergei Pavlovich for the interim heavyweight title at UFC 295 in New York’s Madison Square Garden on Saturday night.

Aspinall took the fight on short notice after the UFC’s 30th-anniversary card was derailed when heavyweight king Jon Jones got injured and his scrap with former two-time champion Stipe Miocic collapsed.

Bisping became the first British champion in UFC history when he scored a massive upset win by knocking out Luke Rockhold on two weeks’ notice at UFC 199 in June 2016.

The Hall of Famer is in town for fight week and has been giving Aspinall some guidance about how to deal with getting the biggest fight of his life on short notice.

“Bisping has always given me advice,” he told talkSPORT.com and other reporters at the UFC 295 media day.

“We are friends, we speak all the time. Yeah, he just tells me to enjoy the moment and don’t let it overwhelm you. And that’s what I intend on doing.

“I’m not gonna go in there on Saturday and take it too seriously.

“It’s not life or death, this is a sport and I’m gonna go in there and enjoy myself. Win or lose, I’m going to enjoy myself on Saturday night and I can’t wait.”

Pavlovich is the man who stands in his way

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Bisping biggest win came in a similar situation

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Aspinall insists he’s enjoying the hectic nature of his latest bout.

He added: “I didn’t train, didn’t have my visa and I was just scrambling around last minute.

“Before I know it, they just throw me to New York, I’m here and I don’t even have time to think about the fight.

“I think it’s working to my advantage so far, but I haven’t fought yet, so we’ll see Saturday night.”

Aspinall has the chance to become just the third UFC champion from the UK.

A unification bout with Jones after he recovers from his bicep injury awaits the winner of the UFC 295 co-main event, as does a potential clash with Miocic.

Monster Energy is the official energy drink of the UFC.

Paddy Pimblett vs Tony Ferguson date: UK start time, full fight card and how to follow UFC 296 clash as Baddy returns for biggest test

Joe Brophy — Wed, 08 Nov 2023 16:30:00 +0000

Paddy Pimblett will finally make his return to the Octagon in December to face former UFC interim champion Tony Ferguson.

‘The Baddy’ has not fought since December 2022 after suffering a serious ankle injury in his victory over Jared Gordon.

Gordon suffered a controversial decision defeat against Pimblett last December

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The 28-year-old was riding a four-fight UFC win streak but was forced to go under the knife in a move that curtailed his plans for 2023.

The Liverpudlian will now get the chance to finish this year on a high in what will be his toughest fight to date against Ferguson.

‘El Cucuy’ has lost six consecutive bouts and hasn’t tasted victory inside the Octagon since stopping Donald Cerrone in 2019.

But at the peak of his powers, Ferguson won a record-setting 12 lightweight fights in a row and captured an interim title so would still be a huge name on Pimblett’s resume should he claim victory.

Pimblett vs Ferguson: Date and how to follow

UFC 296 will take place on Saturday, December 16.

The action is being held at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

The preliminary card will get underway around 11:30pm UK time before the main card at 2am – with Pimblett against Ferguson at around 4am.

The prelims are set to be broadcast live on the UFC Fight Pass before the main card will be shown live on TNT Sports.

Pimblett improved his UFC record to 4-0 in December

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UFC 296: Fight card

Subject to change

Main Card

MAIN EVENT: Leon Edwards vs Colby Covington – for UFC Welterweight title
Alexandre Pantoja and Brandon Royval – for UFC Flyweight title
Paddy Pimblett vs Tony Ferguson
Shavkat Rakhmonov vs Stephen Thompson
Vicente Luque vs. Ian Machado Garry

Preliminary card

Josh Emmett vs Giga Chikadze
Alonzo Menifield vs Dustin Jacoby
Martin Buday vs Shamil Gaziev
Cody Garbrandt vs Brian Kelleher

Early preliminary card

Irene Aldana vs Karol Rosa
Randy Brown vs Muslim Salikhov
Tagir Ulanbekov vs Cody Durden
Casey O’Neill vs Ariane Lipski

Ferguson is looking to get back in the winners’ circle

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Pimblett vs Ferguson: What has been said?

Dana White has responded to the backlash for booking Pimblett vs Ferguson considering the fighters’ respective recent results.

“I think a lot of people think Paddy is unproven, and I think a lot of people feel like this is a fight that Tony isn’t in deep water like he’s been in, in his last several fights,” White said.

“I think the matchmaking and the timing on this fight is excellent and couldn’t be more perfect.

“If you look at Tony’s last few fights that he’s fought, he looked damn good before, you know, the [Michael] Chandler finish, and every fight that he’s fought in the last two or three fights. He looked damn good right up until the end.

“So, it’s a fun, interesting fight with two fun and interesting characters.”

On whether another defeat for Ferguson would spell retirement, White added: “I would let Tony make that decision, but I’m sure if he loses to Paddy he would probably look at calling it.

“He’s had a great career. Done a lot of things, had a lot of big fights. That would probably be a wrap for him. Hopefully.”

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Leon Edwards vs Colby Covington date: UK start time, full fight card and how to follow as Brit champion defends title at UFC 296

Joe Brophy — Wed, 08 Nov 2023 16:15:00 +0000

Leon Edwards will be out to make history when he defends his UFC welterweight title against Colby Covington at UFC 296.

‘Rocky’ is bidding to become the first Brit in history to make two successful title defences as he headlines the final UFC pay-per-view show of the year.

Edwards is ready to defend his world title at UFC 296

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Edwards, who is undefeated in the Octagon since 2015, will be involved in his first fight since his successive victories over Kamaru Usman.

Covington hasn’t fought since beating Jorge Masvidal over five rounds at UFC 272 in March 2022.

The American earned his third title shot by weighing in as the backup fighter ahead of Edwards’ majority-decision victory against Usman at UFC 286 and impressing Dana White in the process.

Covington, whose previous two attempts at capturing UFC gold came in losing efforts to ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’, has been on a collision course with Edwards for years.

Edwards vs Covington: Date and how to follow

UFC 296 will take place on Saturday, December 16.

The action is being held at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

The preliminary card will get underway around 11:30pm UK time before the main card at 2am, with the main event then around 5am.

The prelims are set to be broadcast live on the UFC Fight Pass and fans can sign up to the pass here.

And then the main card will be shown live on TNT Sports in the UK. Full details on how to watch the event can be found here.

talkSPORT will have updates throughout fight week while talkSPORT.com will be on hand for the best of the reaction.

To tune in to talkSPORT or talkSPORT 2 through the website, click HERE for the live stream. You can also listen via the talkSPORT app, on DAB digital radio, through your smart speaker and on 1089 or 1053 AM.

Covington shocked everyone when he weighed in ahead of UFC 286

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UFC 296: Fight card

Subject to change

Main card

MAIN EVENT: Leon Edwards vs Colby Covington – for UFC Welterweight title
Alexandre Pantoja and Brandon Royval – for UFC Flyweight title
Shavkat Rakhmonov vs Stephen Thompson
Paddy Pimblett vs Tony Ferguson
Vicente Luque vs. Ian Machado Garry

Preliminary card

Josh Emmett vs Giga Chikadze
Alonzo Menifield vs Dustin Jacoby
Martin Buday vs Shamil Gaziev
Cody Garbrandt vs Brian Kelleher

Early preliminary card

Irene Aldana vs Karol Rosa
Randy Brown vs Muslim Salikhov
Tagir Ulanbekov vs Cody Durden
Casey O’Neill vs Ariane Lipski

Edwards is coming off back-to-back wins over Usman

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Edwards vs Covington: What has been said?

UFC president Dana White said: “The champ hasn’t lost a fight in eight years and is coming off back-to-back wins over the greatest welterweight of all time – Kamaru Usman.

“He’s defending his title against Colby Covington, a relentless pressure fighter with unstoppable cardio.”

Edwards was previously incensed that Covington was deemed worthy of a third shot at winning UFC gold.

But now he is ready to silence the American who has been trash-talking ahead of the fight.

“I just want to fight him because I don’t like him so that will be even more fuel for me in training,” Edwards said.

“He’s an alright fighter – but look at his resume compared to my resume.

“He hasn’t beaten anyone in the top five, he’s fought people at the back end of their careers and his last five fights are win-lose-win-lose-win, it’s not consistent.”

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Dana White addresses Brock Lesnar and Ronda Rousey rumours ahead of UFC 300

Robert Calcutt — Wed, 08 Nov 2023 13:23:35 +0000

UFC chief Dana White has issued a response to speculation that Brock Lesnar and Ronda Rousey will feature at UFC 300.

With UFC 295 taking place this weekend, it’s not long until MMA’s top promotion company hosts another landmark pay-per-view event.

Fans are hoping that Lesnar can make a return to the octagon

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It’s likely to take place in early April, with fans already building up excitement over who could feature on the card.

Former MMA star and current WWE wrestler Lesnar is one speculated name, as well as former bantamweight champion Rousey.

However, UFC president and CEO White seems to have shut down the prospect of the duo making their comebacks at UFC 300.

“I get why everybody asks,” he told Sports Illustrated when asked about Lesnar and Rousey making appearances.

“I love that everybody loves them like that, and with so much passion. I do, too. But they’re definitely not coming back for UFC 300.”

Lesnar, now 46, made his first outing for the promotion at UFC 81 when he lost to Frank Mir by submission.

He went on to make seven more appearances, including a headline slot at UFC 100 and a shock return at UFC 200 in 2016, his most recent fight in the octagon.

White has previously hinted that Lesnar isn’t likely to make a return as in August, he said: “I think Brock’s done, I don’t think he ever comes back.”

Rousey hasn’t fought for nearly seven years and has been tipped to come back

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Rousey hasn’t featured in the UFC since 2016 when was defeated by Amanda Nunes by TKO after 48 seconds in round 1.

She was the first ever woman to be inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame, therefore cementing her status as a legend of the sport.

But White has already said that Rousey has ‘accomplished everything she set out to do’, with fan hopes of her returning now looking slim.

“I’m focused on Madison Square Garden,” he also said ahead of UFC 295 this Saturday. “But no, they’re not coming back.”

Jorge Masvidal takes plea deal but still vows to knock Colby Covington’s ‘f***ing teeth out’

Sean O'Brien — Tue, 07 Nov 2023 14:37:17 +0000

Jorge Masvidal fired a warning to Colby Covington after his legal battle came to an end on Monday.

Masvidal pleaded guilty to a misdemeanour battery charge as part of a plea deal to have two further charges dropped after attacking Covington outside a Miami restaurant in March 2022.

Masvidal and Covington clashed inside and outside the Octagon

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The incident occurred shortly after a points decision in Covington’s favour at UFC 272.

Masvidal faced up to 15 years in prison and maintained his innocence until striking the plea deal on Monday.

Now, the retired UFC star has sent a message to Covington after the case was resolved.

“It’s over. It’s over,” Masvidal told Ariel Helwani. “Slap the f*** out of some b*****s now. I’m back. Now it’s going to be a movie.

“For numerous things, I had to be on extra good behaviour. Not that I’m going to be on bad behaviour, but let’s just say there’s a couple of motherf*****s getting slapped sooner rather than later.”

Masvidal added: “I don’t know when, but me and Colby are going to see each other at some point, whether it’s in a f***ing cage or I don’t know where the f*** it’s going to be.

“We’re going to see each other. For him lying on my name, for him pressing charges, for everything he’s done, we are going to see each other.

“It’s going to be fun, man. It’s going to be interesting. I’m going to knock the rest of his teeth out. I got to knock two of his fake ass teeth out (in March 2022).

Covington dominated Masvidal on the ground in their fight at UFC 272

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“(If) we see each other, let’s handle it, bro, like f***ing men – and that’s all it is. It’s not like I lose sleep over this guy or cheer for him or hate on him. I don’t give a f***, really.

“But whenever I see his a**, he’s got to answer for all those comments he said in the past and for putting me through this case and bulls***.

“They took away my guns. I’m in Miami. I have to have my guns – motherf*****s are wild. They took away my guns, bro. They said I couldn’t have my guns while I have an open case.”

Masvidal retired after losing to Gilbert Burns at UFC 287 in April but this is the latest in a long series of comeback hints.

Meanwhile, Covington has not fought since the victory over Masvidal, and the American is lined up to face UFC welterweight champion Leon Edwards in the main event of UFC 296 in December.

Conor McGregor offers advice to professional footballer cousin Keith Buckley with ACL recovery

Robert Calcutt — Tue, 07 Nov 2023 13:19:20 +0000

Conor McGregor’s cousin Keith Buckley has revealed the MMA star has offered him support for his ACL recovery.

Midfielder Buckley is the captain of League of Ireland Premier Division side Bohemians, 11-time winners of the Irish top flight.

McGregor tore his ACL in his win against Holloway ten years ago

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He is now offering his cousin advice on how to recover

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The 31-year-old suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury last month in a 2-0 defeat against St Patrick’s Athletic.

Buckley is reported to require two surgeries, firstly to reattach the medial collateral ligament and then repair the ACL.

Such an injury is one that McGregor sustained in 2013 in his win over Max Holloway and he was out of action for around 11 months.

The Notorious also tore 80 per cent of his ACL just 14 weeks before fighting Chad Mendes in 2015, but still went on to win the clash.

This was detailed in behind the scenes footage in his Netflix documentary titled ‘Notorious’.

Buckley has now reached out to his cousin to aid his recovery and he said: “Funny enough, my cousin did it in a fight a couple of years ago.

“I have only been re-watching his documentary. I do look at him sometimes to get a bit of motivation. I have been chatting to him. As he said, it’s a journey now, a process for your mind.

“You will find out a lot more mentally about yourself that you never did before. He has been a help in that way. He did it [ACL] himself and was able to win world titles after that.

“I’m only 31, I’m not 40. He doesn’t have to [reach out], he has other things going on, but it’s good to see. If I ever need anything, he can help me out and push me to certain people.”

Despite his latest setback and him missing the FAI Cup final against St Patrick’s Athletic on Sunday, Buckley maintains a positive outlook.

“I had about an hour in the hospital [coming to terms with it] and that was it. Nothing you can do. I have three other limbs working. I’m healthy, I’m happy.”

McGregor’s cousin is captain of Bohemians

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If he’s able to emulate the comeback that his cousin enjoyed, then Buckley could be set for a successful return to football.

McGregor went on to win the UFC Featherweight and Lightweight Championships in the years after he returned from injury.

He hasn’t fought since he lost to Dustin Poirier in July 2021 but is eyeing another return in April next year.

Sean Strickland’s first UFC middleweight title defence annonuced but it’s not against Khamzat Chimaev

Lee Davey — Tue, 07 Nov 2023 12:13:03 +0000

Sean Strickland will headline the opening pay-per-view in 2024 when he faces off against Dricus Du Plessis.

The UFC middleweight champion dominated Israel Adesanya in September to claim the title in front of a packed crown in Sydney, Australia.

Strickland dethroned Adesanya in September to claim the middleweight title

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Du Plessis is first in line for shot at Strickland’s title

Getty

GettyChimaev will be an interested spectator when Strickland and Du Plessis face off in January[/caption]

Strickland was widely tipped to face Khamzat Chimaev, who returned from a year layoff to beat Kamaru Usman at UFC 294 in Abu Dhabi.

However, the American will now gear up to defend his title on January 20 in Toronto, Canada, after UFC CEO Dana White announced a host of PPV main events for the early part of 2024

It is unclear whether the decision to hand Du Plessis the first shot at Strickland’s title was born out of concerns about Chimaev’s hand injury or reported issues when it comes to travelling to North America.

Du Plessis will provide a more than able opponent for Strickland after securing top contender status at UFC 290 in July.

The South African caused a huge shock when he knocked out former champion Robert Whittaker in round two at the International Fight Week in Las Vegas.

The fight marks the second title fight to be confirmed for the event, with a co-main event between Raquel Pennington and Mayra Bueno Silva for the vacant bantamweight championship also billed.

Also announced for 2024 are the blockbuster fights between Alexander Volkanovski and Ilia Topuria for the featherweight title in February while Sean O’Malley defends his bantamweight belt against Marlon Vera in March.

The UFC are yet to clarify the timings and locations of the featherweight and bantamweight fights.

UFC Fight Night – Almeida vs Lewis LIVE: UK start time, undercard, live stream and how to follow MMA action in Brazil

Joe Brophy — Sat, 04 Nov 2023 15:48:00 +0000

The UFC is back in Brazil as Jailton Almeida bids to move towards a title opportunity by battling Derrick Lewis this weekend.

The home favourite was due to face Curtis Blaydes in a five-round clash before the latter was forced to pull out due to injury.

‘The Black Beast’ celebrated beating another Brazilian by taking his shorts off

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Almeida will now looking to keep his undefeated record up inside the octagon in the UFC Fight Night event, the first in Sao Paulo since 2019.

‘Malhadinho’ (19-2 MMA, 5-0 UFC) may be set for his toughest fight to date in the form of two-time heavyweight title challenger Lewis.

‘The Black Beast’ (27-11 MMA, 18-9 UFC) cemented his staus as UFC’s knockout king by finishing Marcos Rogerio de Lima inside 33-seconds in July.

Almeida vs Lewis: Date and how to follow

This event is scheduled to take place on Saturday, November 4.

It is being held at the 11,000-capacity Ginasio do Ibirapuera in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

The prelim action will start at 11pm with the main card kicking off at 1am on Sunday morning for UK fans.

Almeida vs. Lewis can then be expected at around 4am.

The action will be shown on TNT Sport 2 and their coverage will start at 11pm.

talkSPORT will also have all the build-up and reaction to the action throughout fight week.

White is returning to Brazil for the UFC’s second show of the year

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Almeida vs. Lewis: Fight card

Subject to change

Main card

Main event: Jailton Almeida vs. Derrick Lewis
Gabriel Bonfim vs. Nicolas Dalby
Rodrigo Nascimento vs. Don’Tale Mayes
Caio Borralho vs. Abus Magomedov
Rodolfo Vieira vs. Armen Petrosyan
Ismael Bonfim vs. Vinc Pichel

Preliminary card

Elves Brener vs. Esteban Ribovics
Victor Hugo vs. Daniel Marcos
Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos vs. Rinat Fakhretdinov
Vitor Petrino vs. Modestas Bukauskas
Angela Hill vs. Denise Gomes
Eduarda Moura vs. Montserrat Ruiz
Kaue Fernandes vs. Marc Diakiese

Almeida vs. Lewis: What has been said?

Blaydes has offered an apology to his fans following his withdrawal from this weekend’s event.

He said: “Injuries from camp weren’t healing at a fast enough pace for me to compete at the level required to be the best version of myself Nov 4.

“There’s a difference between being hurt and injured, took me almost 3 months to see the difference.

“I’m going to take some time off from training and focus on rehabbing so I can come back fully confident in my athletic abilities.

“Apologies to everyone who was hyped up for this fight. I promise this decision wasn’t made in haste.”

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Sergei Pavlovich left Derrick Lewis face down on the floor with vicious 55-second knockout

Jordan Ellis — Sat, 04 Nov 2023 09:30:00 +0000

Sergei Pavlovich became a genuine heavyweight contender when he knocked out UFC fan favourite Derrick Lewis last year.

The Russian MMA star lost his UFC debut against Alistair Overeem in November 2018 before picking up three consecutive first-round KO wins over unheralded opponents.

Pavlovich is the UFC heavyweight division’s boogeyman

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Most fans weren’t overly impressed with his stoppage streak, but UFC CEO Dana White decided Pavlovich had done enough to earn a shot at one of the biggest stars on his roster.

Lewis is a two-time title challenger, and the most prolific knockout artist in UFC history after stopping 14 of his Octagon opponents with strikes.

The 38-year-old has become extremely popular with UFC fans due to a combination of his KO ability and wacky personality that makes for hilarious post-fight interviews.

‘The Black Beast’ had a hometown crowd behind him when he squared off against Pavlovich at UFC 277 in Texas in July 2022, but they were quickly silenced.

Pavlovich charged at his rival as soon as the fight began.

The 31-year-old launched a series of vicious punches at Lewis who tried to retreat but ended up taking most of them to the head and chin before falling to the floor.

Lewis landed face-first on the canvas before veteran referee Dan Miragliotta stepped in and awarded Pavlovich a shockingly quick win after just 55 seconds.

Since then, Pavlovich has extended his first-round KO streak to six.

Lewis was overwhelmed by his opponent’s relentless attack

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He tried to protest the stoppage but after faceplanting

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The 6ft 3in puncher stopped Tai Tuivasa and Curtis Blaydes to become the number one contender for Jon Jones’ UFC heavyweight title.

After ‘Bones withdrew from his UFC 295 fight with fellow MMA legend Stipe Miocic, it was announced Pavlovich will headline at Madison Square Garden on November 11.

However, he won’t be facing Miocic as British MMA star Tom Aspinall has taken the chance to fight Pavlovich for the interim heavyweight title on short notice.

Meanwhile, Lewis dropped three fights in a row before getting back in the win column by knocking out Marcos Rogério de Lima with a flying knee and follow-up punches in July.

The 38-year-old is set to headline UFC Sao Paulo on Saturday night.

He’ll face streaking contender Jailton Almeida in his home country this weekend just days after being arrested for driving 86mph over the speed limit.

Fans feared Lewis would be pulled from the latest UFC card when he was caught travelling in his Lamborghini at 136mph in a 50mph area.

Thankfully, he was released on bail before travelling to Brazil in search of a win that would catapult him back into the title mix and move him one step closer to a potential rematch with Pavlovich.

I’m A Celebrity star Jake Quickenden shows off impressive body transformation as he swaps screen for brutal MMA cage fight

Robert Calcutt — Fri, 03 Nov 2023 18:23:20 +0000

Jake Quickenden has shown off his incredible body transformation as he prepares to make his MMA debut this weekend.

The 2014 I’m A Celebrity runner-up initially claimed his media fame when he appeared on the X Factor in 2012.

RexQuickenden once braved the Australian jungle, but now faces a new test[/caption]

He also made an appearance on Dancing on Ice, but is looking to step foot into the octagon to tackle MMA, telling talkSPORT in April he wants to challenge himself.

Quickenden will take on comedian Paul Smith on Saturday night at the AO Arena in Manchester after ten gruelling months of training.

During such time he has lost three stone in weight and such an amazing transformation was clear to see when he took to the scales.

Donning a whacky pair of leopard pants, Quickenden flexed his muscles as he weighed in at 76.9kg [12st 1lbs].

Speaking to Oktagon MMA, he discussed how he has had to put aside his love of food in order to make the best preparations for his fight.

He remarked: “Making the weight has been the mental challenge for me because I do love my food.

“I’ve been off the booze for over a year and I’ve changed my diet quite a lot.

“I used to eat a lot of rubbish and I haven’t been. I can’t wait for it to be over so I can have a kebab and maybe a beer.

Quickenden is in great shape ahead of his debut MMA fight

Oktagon MMA

He previously beat Love Island and Blazin Squad star Marcel Sommerville in boxing

@jakequickenden - instagram

“It’s made me mentally stronger; it’s been tough, I’ve been grumpy, tired and hungry but I’ve kept a strong mind throughout.”

He also revealed just how much weight he has actually lost before he steps foot in the cage: “Your body is 60 percent water, so you’re sweating the water out to make weight, so Friday morning I’ll weigh in and I’ll be pretty dehydrated, I won’t have any carbs.

“I’ll weigh in at 77kg and then you get to rehydrate, which is the fun bit, and then some food which will be absolute heaven.

“I started this whole process at 97kg, so when I make weight at 77kg I will have lost 20kg, which is a lot of weight.”

Quickenden certainly looks in great shape ahead of his fight, with the TV star swapping the screen for something much more daring.

I was jailed for crime I didn’t commit – now I’m an MMA star set for ‘dream’ fight against police officer

Jordan Ellis — Fri, 03 Nov 2023 15:30:00 +0000

Shem Rock will realise one of his dreams at OKTAGON 48.

Most British mixed martial arts stars want to fight for the UFC title or headline a show at Wembley Stadium, but Rock simply wants to settle his beef with the law.

Rock’s dream opponent is different from most MMA fighters

@shemrockbjj - instagram

The self-confessed former drug dealer was arrested in connection with an aggravated burglary – a crime he insists he didn’t commit – more than a decade ago.

After being released on bail by accident, Rock opted to flee the country rather than return to custody as his solicitor had suggested.

The Liverpudlian spent the next decade on the run, but during his time away from home he found MMA, and it took him all over the globe as he became a genuine prospect.

However, he was arrested after travelling to Belfast for a Clan Wars featherweight title fight he lost by knockout in front of his family.

Rock spent six months in jail before being found not guilty of aggravated burglary in April 2022 and returning home for the first time in 10 years.

The 29-year-old now boasts a 9-1-1 record, trains with UFC superstar Paddy Pimblett and is set to fight a police officer in Manchester on Saturday night.

OKTAGON – one of Europe’s biggest MMA promotions – will make its UK debut this weekend with a card that features a fight between reality TV personality Jake Quickenden and comedian Paul Smith.

Rock will face Czech policeman Jaroslav Pokorny, who is 16-10 in MMA and has been rubbing up his next opponent the wrong way ahead of their clash.

The 29-year-old was cleared after a decade away from his family

@shemrockbjj - instagram

He’ll fight a police officer this weekend at OKTAGON 44

@jarda_pokorny - INSTAGRAM

“I can’t wait to just kill this guy,” Rock told talkSPORT.com.

“I seriously don’t like him. I’ve never really fought anyone I seriously don’t like, but I just don’t like this guy.

“At first, it was a no-brainer, he’s a police officer. Who doesn’t want to punch a hole through a police officer’s face? But then, even just going back and forth with him, he’s just an idiot, he just says some weird s***.

“He’s in my DMs chatting s*** about my mum, doing articles online saying I smell, and I wear the same T-shirt every day. I get it, you’re going to say what you’re going to say, but what type of banter is that? It’s f****** dead.

Rock has some of the UFC’s biggest stars behind him

@shemrockbjj - instagram

“You either say something funny or you say something nasty. I just think he’s a weird guy.”

After spending much of his life fleeing from the police, Rock is not sure how to approach a fight he spent many nights in prison dreaming about.

He added: “It’s the dream. I never thought I’d ever get the chance to fight a police officer.

“This is like a main event, title shot for me getting to punch a police officer in the face. I just wish it was a five-rounder and not a three-round so I could drag him into deep waters and really punish him.

Rock outlined two ways he could approach the fight during an interview with talkSPORT

talkSPORT

“I’m torn between two minds. Do I just f****** go in there and take him out?

“Or do I go in there and f****** dominate him for three rounds? And every time he looks out just be like, ‘Na, I’m not submitting you. I’m not taking your neck. I’m punching a hole in your face.’

“And when the ref is about to stop it, maybe I’ll stop for a bit and let him recover, keep him in there, and just f****** punish him.

“The martial artist in me tells me to just do him in, get him out there quick and make a statement. I don’t know what it is in me that wants to f****** hurt him and keep him in there.

“Break his nose and his eye sockets. When he’s giving his back, just flatten him out, punch him in the ear and not even take his neck.

“Who knows, when you get in there sometimes all of that just goes out of the window.”

Jake Paul mocks Conor McGregor and Nate Diaz as UFC PPV purses leaked in court

Michael Benson — Fri, 03 Nov 2023 13:58:04 +0000

Jake Paul has taunted Conor McGregor after five of his UFC PPV purses were made public.

McGregor’s earnings between 2015 and 2016 have been revealed in newly released documents as part of an ongoing class action lawsuit against the UFC for alleged unfair business practices.

Paul has mocked McGregor’s UFC purses

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Paul beat Diaz in a boxing match in August

Esther Lin/Most Valuable Promotions

This lawsuit was initially filed by three ex-fighters in 2014 and now looks likely to be heading to trial in April.

The documents revealed that McGregor made £2.1million for his fight vs Chad Mendes in July 2015.

He then made £3.7million for his title fight vs Jose Aldo later that year.

In 2016, McGregor earned £4.5million when he fought Nate Diaz.

And he made £4.6million for the rematch, despite suffering defeat in the first clash.

Finally it was revealed that McGregor took home £5.5million for his fight vs Eddie Alvarez.

Paul, who has earned tens of millions from his boxing career, tweeted in reaction: “This is f***ing hilarious and sad at the same time.”

He has since deleted the tweet.

However, Paul has since also taken aim at Nate Diaz, who he beat in a boxing match earlier this year.

He tweeted: “Nate Diaz made more in one boxing match than he did fighting Conor McGregor twice in MMA. No wonder that boy begging for a boxing rematch.”

‘This is getting a little weird’ – Conor McGregor’s drive and hunger questioned as comeback issue highlighted

Robert Calcutt — Thu, 02 Nov 2023 14:51:11 +0000

Conor McGregor is ‘getting into the cash grab’ and not as hungry as he used to be, according to former MMA star Chael Sonnen.

It’s been over two years since ‘Notorious’ last fought, a defeat to Dustin Poirier in July 2021 that saw him break his leg.

A date is yet to be confirmed but McGregor eyes an April return against Chandler

Getty

McGregor looks as though he’s ready to seal his return to the Octagon soon though, with Michael Chandler being eyed as his next opponent in April.

However, a weight class for the fight is yet to be determined – both last fought at 155 pounds but they could enter at middleweight.

As a result, Sonnen has raised his concerns over the clash when he told MMA Junkie: “Never in history have we had a fight where we don’t have a weight class.

“That simply does not happen. There’s venues, there’s a lot of things – we don’t have a weight class and still don’t have a weight class.

“It still hasn’t been stated if Conor is going to 170 or 155 or do a catchweight. They went on Twitter and said they were going 185. I’m just sharing with you this is getting a little weird at this point.”

McGregor was spotted ringside at Tyson Fury’s controversial win over Francis Ngannou in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia last weekend.

After such an appearance, Sonnen has questioned whether the Irishman’s ambitions to fight are financially driven.

“To see Michael Chandler training everyday, which he is, and to see Conor McGregor anywhere in the world except for a gym, which he’s never at, it’s one of those things like there is a money grab at some point,” he added.

“You will ask every fighter, ‘Why are you still fighting?’ And the answer if he tells the truth is because they’re still paying me. It feels as though Conor is getting into the cash grab.

“If he’s over there at [Saudi Arabia], he’s at the table with Manny Pacquiao, he’s trying to make a boxing match.

“Like I can’t blame him for doing these things, but there was a time in his career where he was hungry, youthful, active, and busy and could go do both of those things. That time was many years ago, and it just seems as though at some point we’re getting trolled.

“So, let’s see what happens. But he’s back in the pool; that’s a good sign. He’s fighting Chandler, they say, at a weight class they haven’t picked. No bout agreement has ever been signed that way.”

McGregor tried to fight Chandler at UFC 296 on December 16 but his recently resolved dispute UFC’s drug testing company has kept him out for 2023.

However during his trip to Saudi Arabia, he said he is ‘happy with April’ despite him wanting his return to be earlier.

Jon Jones apologises for giving fans hilarious ‘TMI’ update about recovery from injury that derailed UFC 295

Jordan Ellis — Wed, 01 Nov 2023 17:08:37 +0000

Jon Jones is keeping fans updated about his recovery process.

Perhaps too much, as the UFC heavyweight champion recently took to X – formerly known as Twitter – to apologise for oversharing with his 2.9 million followers.

Jones is widely regarded as the best MMA fight ever

AFP

‘Bones’ was supposed to defend his belt against fellow MMA legend Stipe Miocic at UFC 295 on November 11, but a catastrophic injury derailed their eagerly anticipated clash.

After undergoing surgery to repair the torn pectoral muscle that led to Tom Aspinall getting a short-notice interim title fight against Sergei Pavlovich, Jones opened up about how he is struggling with basic tasks.

The 36-year-old even told fans about a toilet issue he’s experiencing.

“Who would’ve thought wiping my a** with my right hand would be so difficult,” Jones tweeted on Monday, prompting hilarious reactions from his fans.

One person said: “You just made us all envision that.”

Another wrote: “Toilet paper putting up a better fight than Ciryl Gane did.”

A third person replied: “TMI Jon but thanks for sharing.”

Someone else commented: “I’ll come install you a fresh bidet. Only for the GOAT.”

Jones tore his pec in training

He’s trying to stay positive during his recovery

@jonnybones - instagram

After being inundated with comments on his post, Jones returned to social media and apologised for his funny faux pas.

He tweeted: “Sorry guys, but the struggle is real.”

Jones is expected to be out of action for at least eight months with his injury.

It’s currently unclear if Miocic will wait for him to return or look to fight the winner of Pavlovich vs Aspinall for a version of the UFC’s heavyweight title in 2024.

The 41-year-old hasn’t fought since being knocked out by Ngannou at UFC 260 in March 2021 and it seems unlikely he would want any extra time on the sidelines.

For now, Jones is focused on his battle with the bathroom rather than a fight with the man countless fans regard as the best heavyweight in MMA history.

Derrick Lewis arrested for driving Lamborghini 86mph over speed limit days before UFC fight

Jordan Ellis — Wed, 01 Nov 2023 13:17:18 +0000

Derrick Lewis has been charged with dangerous driving.

On October 25, just days before his fight with streaking heavyweight contender Jailton Almeida at UFC Sao Paulo this weekend, ‘The Black Beast’ was caught driving 86mph over the speed limit in Houston, Texas.

Lewis’ joyride made the news in his hometown

ABC13

The 38-year-old was going 136mph in a 50mph zone while weaving in and out of traffic in his red Lamborghini before being pulled over by a police officer he had just whizzed past.

Lewis was detained and later released on a $100 personal recognizance bond.

According to court records, he drove with ‘wilful and wanton disregard for the safety of persons and property by driving at a high rate of speed and changing lanes in an unsafe manner.’

The man who holds the record for most UFC knockouts is due in court on December 27 and faces up to 30 days in jail and/or a fine of up to $200 if convicted.

Lewis has since flown out to Brazil ahead of his latest fight in MMA’s premier promotion.

The UFC fan favourite was drafted in as a late-replacement opponent after Curtis Blaydes got injured and fell off the card three weeks ago.

Lewis hasn’t fought since snapping a three-fight losing streak by knocking out Marcos Rogério de Lima with a flying knee and follow-up punches in July.

Despite pestering UFC CEO Dana White for a fight before the end of 2023, Lewis is unhappy about facing Almeida and feels he’s been duped into competing in a country he wanted to avoid.

‘The Black Beast’ shared a clip of him speeding on social media

@thebeastufc - instagram

Details about his arrest have been shared online

MMA Junkie

“We’d been calling the UFC for a while trying to get a fight before the year was out, but they kept saying everything was booked up,” he told FOX Sports.

“Then a few weeks ago we got a call about this guy (Almeida) and I just agreed straight away. I didn’t know the fight was in Brazil though.

“It was only after accepting that they told me. I’d always said to my manager I would never fight in Brazil because of the taxes being so bad. So I got tricked into accepting this fight.

“I wouldn’t have taken it. Not at all. I said I didn’t want to fight here and, since arriving, nothing has changed.

“I can’t wait to go home.”

Conor McGregor reveals new comeback date as he opens up about mental toll of UFC hiatus

Jordan Ellis — Wed, 01 Nov 2023 11:53:31 +0000

Conor McGregor is desperate to make his UFC comeback.

‘Notorious’ has been sidelined since breaking his leg during a trilogy bout with Dustin Poirier at UFC 264 in July 2021 – but he’s been ready to return all year.

McGregor fractured his tibia and fibula

Getty

A recently resolved dispute between MMA’s biggest star and the UFC’s drug testing company has kept him out of action for 2023, even though he tried to fight Michael Chandler at UFC 296 on December 16.

During his recent trip to Saudi Arabia to watch Tyson Fury vs Francis Ngannou, McGregor revealed when he expects to finally return to the UFC Octagon.

“I’m happy with April,” McGregor told MMA Junkie.

“I would have loved it earlier, but if I’m to be honest and be realistic, for my fans, I want to put in a good run, build myself back, and that’s it. It’s looking like April, mixed martial arts.”

UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski recently opened up about how he struggles mentally when he’s not got a fight booked and McGregor pointed out he has lived in that state of limbo for years.

He added: “I’ve been kept from my living for almost three years now.

“Understand that. I came through what I came through. I’m sitting on an injury and a loss. You hear what Alexander Volkanovski said? I relate.

“I must return to my way of living. This is my job. It’s beyond frustrating. I just want the date. Give me the date, please. That’s it.”

‘Notorious’ referenced Volkanovski’s recent mental health speech

Getty

He’s hoping to fight Chandler in April

@TheNotoriousMMA - Twitter

The former dual-weight UFC champion still expects to fight Chandler, although at this point he would agree to face King Kong if it meant he could make his comeback sooner.

“It’s whoever they want,” McGregor said.

“I won’t ever say no. I just want a date. I won’t ever say no to no one.

“Chandler is what it seems to be. It does not matter to me as long as I get back in there.”

‘It’s just unfair’ – Elon Musk tells Joe Rogan why fight between him and Mark Zuckerberg is a mismatch

Jordan Ellis — Wed, 01 Nov 2023 10:57:05 +0000

Elon Musk believes a potential fight with Mark Zuckerberg is a mismatch.

The social media billionaires broke the internet earlier this year when they agreed to clash in MMA before giving UFC CEO Dana White the green light to start promoting the match-up.

Musk claims to have 10 years of martial arts experience

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Zuckerberg is training with the UFC’s best ahead of his MMA debut

instagram @zuck

However, a disagreement about how the event will run led to Zuckerberg withdrawing and claiming he would look to make his MMA debut against an alternative opponent.

Musk has now revealed exactly why his fight with Zuckerberg fell through.

“Italy actually was willing to let us use the Colosseum,” he said on The Joe Rogan Experience.

“So, I was like, ‘Well, you can’t turn that down.’ And then I was like, ‘We don’t want to have tons of ads and UFC branding on the Colosseum because it’s a historical place, you don’t want it to be like NASCAR.’

“And then Zuck pulled out. He used the pull-out method.”

The X – formerly known as Twitter – owner insists he is still willing to fight Zuckerberg despite failed negotiations and the fact he has a massive physical advantage over his potential opponent.

Musk added: “At the end of the day, I’ll fight you any place, anywhere, under any rules.

“I’m way bigger than him, it’s just unfair. I don’t think he should fight me.

The podcast host dressed up as his own meme for Halloween

And listened to Musk’s thoughts on a fight with Zuckerberg

JRE

“I’m like 50 per cent bigger than him. I’ve got my patented walrus move where I just lay on him. The walrus doesn’t need martial arts training because it’s really big.

“You don’t want to go wrestling a walrus because it’s gonna roll on you.

“I think I’ll be decent. I did some martial arts competitions as a teenager.”

Zuckerberg hasn’t responded to Musk’s attempt to reignite their rivalry, but he has been pressing ahead with training and even earned his BJJ blue belt in recent months.

So, he may still be willing to settle their feud in the MMA cage.

‘Absolutely shocking’ – UFC star Tom Aspinall gives verdict on Tyson Fury’s controversial win over Francis Ngannou

Jordan Ellis — Tue, 31 Oct 2023 16:00:42 +0000

Tom Aspinall has been left stunned by Tyson Fury’s performance against MMA legend Francis Ngannou.

The UFC heavyweight star is a former sparring partner of ‘The Gypsy King’ and was chasing a fight with Ngannou before he left Dana White’s MMA league following a contract dispute earlier this year.

Aspinall was one of many heavyweights chasing a shot at Ngannou before his UFC exit

Getty

Aspinall was better placed than most to predict ‘The Battle of the Baddest’ and he gave his ex-colleague next to no chance of springing the biggest upset in boxing history.

Ngannou shocked the world when he dropped the WBC heavyweight champion in round three and caused him major problems throughout their ten-round fight in Saudi Arabia on Saturday night.

In the eyes of many, ‘The Predator’ did enough to beat Fury in his boxing debut, but two of the three ringside judges scored the fight in favour of the Englishman.

Speaking with talkSPORT.com ahead of his interim heavyweight title fight against Sergei Pavlovich at UFC 295 on November 11, Aspinall admitted he was stunned by what he witnessed this past weekend.

“Shocking,” he said when asked for his verdict on Fury vs Ngannou.

“Absolutely shocking. As someone who has been around Tyson Fury for a long time, I couldn’t believe it. I’m still shocked. I watched a couple of highlights again this morning.”

The 30-year-old believes Ngannou deserves all the plaudits he’s receiving for his performance after escaping poverty to become one of the biggest stars in combat sports.

Aspinall added: “You’ve just got to give maximum respect to Francis Ngannou for what he’s done.

Ngannou dropped Fury in the third round, before losing on points

getty

Aspinall gave his thoughts on the fight to talkSPORT.com

talksport

“To have that belief in himself, his whole story is inspiring. Like, he’s come from where he’s come from, sacked the UFC off and took the money.

“Everybody thought he was going to lose, let’s be honest. Including me, I thought he was going to get smashed. And he did amazing, fair play to him.”

Aspinall believes Ngannou did enough to beat the champion – whose title wasn’t up for grabs – but admits he doesn’t know enough about how boxing bouts are scored to be confident about his fight verdict.

He concluded: “It’s hard to say because I don’t know boxing judging as well as I know MMA judging, but I personally thought Ngannou won.”

“Like I say, I might be wrong. I don’t know the judging that well.”

Fury, who is currently sporting a massive black eye, has distanced himself from talk of a rematch with Ngannou by claiming the KO artist only won two rounds during their fight.

The 35-year-old is pressing ahead with a four-belt undisputed clash against WBO, WBA and IBF champion Oleksandr Usyk, which was originally earmarked for December 23, but has seemingly been delayed until 2024.

Ngannou, who was supposed to return to MMA with the Professional Fighters League [PFL] next year, will now be fielding offers to stay in boxing and fight the best of the rest at heavyweight.

Tom Aspinall takes on Sergei Pavlovich at UFC 295: Aspinall vs. Pavlovich on November 11^th live on TNT Sports.

Power Slap star almost unrecognisable as he shows off devastating facial injuries after brutal defeat

Jordan Ellis — Mon, 30 Oct 2023 14:15:54 +0000

Austin Turpin has been left almost unrecognisable following his latest fight.

The Power Slap star squared off against Ron ‘Wolverine’ Bata in a light heavyweight championship bout on Dana White‘s slap fighting show.

Power Slap star Turpin suffered catastrophic injuries during his latest fight

Power Slap/Rumble

Turpin and Bata traded blows for five rounds in Las Vegas last Wednesday.

It was a fight that got UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland excited as footage of him reacting to the bout subsequently went viral on social media.

The first round featured a tame strike from Turpin and a decent shot from ‘Wolverine’, but things really started to get interesting in the following frame.

Another underwhelming hit from ‘Turp Daddy Slim’ was answered by a blistering slap from the champion who almost knocked his rival to the floor.

It was a similar story in round three before Turpin finally got things going in the fourth round as he landed a strike that dazed Bata.

A clip from the fifth frame shows Turpin eating a massive slap to his badly bruised face before screaming at his opponent whom he repeatedly branded a ‘p****’.

Neither man landed a knockout blow, and the judges ultimately scored the match 48-47, 48-47, 48-47 in favour of ‘Wolverine’ who retained his title by unanimous decision.

A couple of days after his defeat, Turpin shared a video on Instagram that showed the gruesome result of taking five slaps to the face without employing any form of defence.

UFC boss White is all in on slap fighting

Getty

Turpin’s eye closed over and his face ballooned from swelling

@turpdaddyslim - Instagram

The 28-year-old scored a viral KO earlier this year

@powerslapleague on Twitter

The clip showed one side of Turpin’s head being massively swollen, with bruising around his eye causing it to close.

He simply captioned his post: “Keep an eye out for me.”

The song ‘If You’re Gonna Be Dumb, You Gotta Be Tough’ played in the background and another caption was also visible on the post.

It read: “SO YOU WANNA BE A SLAP FIGHTER LOL.”

Turpin made headlines earlier this year following a win on Power Slap.

The 28-year-old knocked out Alan Klingbeil with a single slap that left his opponent quivering on the floor and caused controversy by celebrating in an obscene manner.

Turpin reacted to his win by dropping to the floor and thrusting before branding himself a ‘superstar’ during a post-fight interview.

Despite losing his latest bout, the American will almost certainly be invited back to compete on White’s often-criticised slap fighting show.

First, Turpin must go through a long and painful recovery process.

Incredible footage shows 50-year-old mum KNOCKING OUT son’s teenage ex-girlfriend in bizarre MMA fight

Jordan Ellis — Mon, 30 Oct 2023 11:57:49 +0000

A 50-year-old mother brutally knocked out her son’s 19-year-old ex-girlfriend in a MMA fight which has gone viral.

As combat sports fans gathered around their TVs and celebrities assembled in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia to watch Tyson Fury vs Francis Ngannou, another bizarre bout was taking place in Poland on Saturday night.

A family feud was settled in Poland this weekend

@cloutmma - X

Clout MMA put on a fight between Malgorzata Zwierzynska and Nikola Alokin.

Zwierzynska – also known as ‘Gosia Magical’ – has found fame online making videos with her streamer son Daniel and looked to capitalise on it by settling a rivalry with his ex-partner this past weekend.

Alokin, who is often referred to as Nikita, was expected to emerge victorious due to the fact she is 31 years younger than her opponent – but she ended up suffering a shocking defeat.

A clip from their fight has gone viral, with 1.8 million people watching the knockout on X – formerly known as Twitter – and many more viewing it on other social media sites.

Zwierzynska landed several powerful punches on Alokin who ultimately crumbled to the floor after running into a stiff jab that brought an end to their contest.

Fans saw the funny side of a mother KO’ing her son’s ex-girlfriend.

One person commented: “Yeah I wouldn’t wanna go against an angry mother.”

Another said: “Ultimate revenge.”

The 50-year-old scored a knockdown with a jab

Clout MMA

And finished her son’s teenage ex-girlfriend with ground strikes

Clout MMA

Poland is known for putting on wacky MMA fights – an intergender bout previously caused controversy

A third added: “Got revenge for the heartbreak her son suffered.”

Someone else messaged: “Don’t ever mess with a mother after you break her child’s heart.”

While this bout shocked many, it is certainly not the most controversial fight to take place in Poland, which has become known as the place to put on weird and disturbing match-ups.

In 2021, an MMA event in the country saw a female fighter get brutally knocked out by a male and prompted a statement from the International Federation of Mixed Martial Arts Federation [IMMAF].

“Although neither the promoter nor competitors have any association with IMMAF, as the international governing body for amateur mixed martial arts, I feel it is important that I state our position,” IMMAF CEO Sensign White said.

“IMMAF categorically disagrees with this intentionally scandalous, form of entertainment, which does not represent the sport of MMA or its values and puts women at risk.

“It is unacceptable that women and men should compete against each other in combat sports, essentially for reasons of safety but also fair play, and we in no way endorse this.”

The IMMAF is yet to comment on Clout MMA’s latest event.

Conor McGregor cracks Georgina Rodriguez up before squaring up to Cristiano Ronaldo at Tyson Fury vs Francis Ngannou

Natasha Everitt — Mon, 30 Oct 2023 10:11:22 +0000

Tyson Fury vs Francis Ngannou saw a number of unexpected crossovers, but Conor McGregor definitely had one of the best.

There were many famous faces in the audience in Riyadh on Saturday night as MMA star Ngannou entered the ring to take on one of the world’s most iconic heavyweight fighters.

McGregor, Ronaldo and Rodriguez’s interaction was caught on camera

YouTube

From Eminem to Mike Tyson, fans loved spotting numerous celebrities in the crowd throughout the build up to the fight.

But one of the best interactions of the night had to be the one between UFC icon McGregor, Cristiano Ronaldo and his partner, Georgina Rodriguez.

Former Manchester United and England defender Rio Ferdinand vlogged the occasion on his YouTube channel FIVE.

After documenting his interaction with heavyweight star Oleksandr Usyk, Ferdinand’s video then cut to him capturing McGregor linking up with Ronaldo and Rodriguez.

McGregor is seen laughing and joking with the former Man United star, hugging him. He then grabs Ronaldo’s hand and shakes it.

But whatever was said, the couple thought he was hilarious.

After posing for a photo with Ronaldo and Ferdinand, the camera cuts to a clip of the Al Nassr captain and the Irishman pretending to square up to each other.

Ronaldo starts laughing at first, but then composes himself well, giving the UFC star a steely look.

Ronaldo and McGregor faced off

YouTube

Ronaldo couldn’t help but crack up after

YouTube

The pair then burst out laughing and grin and each other before embracing again.

Before his bout with Ngannou, Fury sat down for a conversation with Ronaldo, giving him his take on the Ronaldo vs Lionel Messi debate.

Fury’s fight against boxing novice Ngannou didn’t go as planned, with the Gypsy King being challenged for 10 rounds and was even dropped in round three.

Fury won a controversial split decision, but whilst he remains unbeaten, his reputation ahead of his bout with Usyk has certainly been shaken.

Wholesome footage shows Cristiano Ronaldo asking for update on recently KO’d UFC star during chat with Israel Adesanya

Jordan Ellis — Sat, 28 Oct 2023 16:24:28 +0000

Cristiano Ronaldo has won over the MMA community with one simple question.

The former Manchester United star is in his new home city of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia ahead of Tyson Fury’s crossover fight with Francis Ngannou on Saturday night.

Ronaldo and Fury posed for pictures together before the big fight

Top Rank

Israel Adesanya is also in the Middle East to support a fellow former UFC champion who is set to face a boxing world champion in his squared circle debut.

The two sports stars bumped into each other, and their interaction was caught on camera – it has since been shared on Adesanya’s Instagram story.

Ronaldo can be heard imploring ‘Stylebender’ to fight on after he claimed to be taking some time off from MMA after losing his title to Sean Strickland last month.

Adesanya promised to attend one of Ronaldo’s matches with Saudi club Al-Nassr and expressed his surprise at the fact the football legend is pretty much the same size as him.

However, it was something CR7 said under his breath as the pair embraced before parting ways that caught the attention of MMA fans around the world.

The 38-year-old asked for an update on Alexander Volkanovski after he opened up about his mental health struggles following a knockout loss against Islam Makhachev at UFC 294 last weekend.

Adesanya replied: “Volk? Oh, that’s my guy. He’s good. Appreciate you asking.”

Ronaldo isn’t the only sports star sending positive vibes to Volkanovski.

‘R7’ is a UFC fan and wanted an update on Volkanovski

@stylebender - instagram

‘The Great’ has been flooded with support since revealing his mental health struggle

Getty

Fury, who has well-documented issues with his own mental health, had some kind words when asked about ‘The Great’ and his ongoing battle.

“I have been in that situation all year,” he told The Mac Life.

“I’ve not boxed since last year, early December of 2022 and there was a lot of uncertainty [about] if I would even box again. Out of the blue, all of this has come, and I’ve not got one fight, but two fights lined up.

“What I would say to Alexander is keep going. You know, he’s a very good professional athlete and you win some, you lose some.

“Dust yourself off, get back in there and kick a**.”

Ronaldo asking Israel Adesanya if Volkanvoski is “doing okay” as he knows they have a “tight community” is one of the coolest things you’ll see today.

It wasn’t too long ago that top athletes had very little idea who was who in MMA. @Cristiano / @stylebender /… pic.twitter.com/AIRypWXzDf
— AFeldmanMMA (@afeldMMA) October 28, 2023

Jon Jones goes hard in training and even wore Call of Duty gear for workout before grim injury that derailed UFC 295

Jordan Ellis — Sat, 28 Oct 2023 10:45:00 +0000

Jon Jones leaves no stone un-turned when he’s in the gym.

The UFC heavyweight champion is known for going relentlessly hard in training as he tries to cement his legacy as the greatest mixed martial arts fighter of all time.

Jones is widely regarded as the best MMA fight ever

AFP

After beating Dominick Reyes and vacating his light heavyweight title in February 2020, ‘Bones’ spent more than three years away from the Octagon as he meticulously prepared for his eagerly anticipated divisional debut.

The 36-year-old documented his heavyweight body transformation on social media, and it involved some bizarre training techniques previously unused by MMA stars.

In December 2020, Jones shared several pictures on Instagram that showed him standing in a gym while kitted out in army gear and surrounded by people wearing the same thing.

He captioned the post: “Sometimes learning how to fight in different environments is a necessity for growth. Show me your friend I will show you your future. Train with the best.”

Jones also uploaded videos of him doing pull-ups while carrying a machine gun – he even proved it was loaded – and looking like a character from the super popular video game Call of Duty.

The American’s bizarre training methods paid off in March when he finally made his heavyweight debut against long-time contender Ciryl Gane at UFC 285.

Francis Ngannou’s recently vacated heavyweight belt was on the line and Jones became a two-weight UFC champion by tapping out Gane inside one round.

Jones was supposed to defend his strap against Stipe Miocic next month.

He likes to mix up his training

@jonnybones - instagram

Jones bulked up in a bizarre manner during his three-year layoff

@jonnybones - instagram

However, a training session that went too far injured Jones, derailed their UFC 295 main event match-up and led to an interim title bout between Tom Aspinall and Sergei Pavlovich being booked for the November 11 pay-per-view card.

UFC CEO Dana White confirmed the news on social media and shared training footage that showed Jones tore his pec from the bone during wrestling practice.

In the clip, the 27-1 fighter can be heard screaming in pain and clutching his chest in extreme discomfort after an innocuous grappling transition caused a devastating injury.

Jones reacted by revealing his plan is to “get back to work as soon as possible” after undergoing surgery with a UFC-recommended doctor.

Jones tore his pec in training

British fighter Tom Aspinall got his first title shot on short notice

Getty

“Obviously, very sad situation, very upset,” he said.

“But I’ve been through a lot of things in life, and injuries are a part of being an athlete. I want to thank the UFC for getting me into one of the best doctors in the country.

“I wanted to say thank you to Stipe Miocic for all the work that he’s put in. Also, sorry to Stipe and his team. Like I said, this comes with the territory.”

“I guess it will be Stipe and I at a later date, and that’s my plan. Hopefully, these other heavyweights, Aspinall and Sergei, put it on a great show for you guys.

“I may even show up to the event to watch. But I love you all, and hey, your boy Jon Jones is doing OK.”

Miocic has remained silent since his UFC comeback was derailed.

The 41-year-old hasn’t fought since being knocked out by Ngannou at UFC 260 in March 2021 and it remains unclear if he will spend another year on the sidelines waiting for Jones.

Only time will tell if we’ll ever get to see Jones vs Miocic or if it’ll become one of the few matchups the UFC were unable to get over the line despite fan appetite for it.

Ian Garry insists he will NEVER fight Conor McGregor but could beat Canelo Alvarez with an eight-week boxing camp

Jordan Ellis — Fri, 27 Oct 2023 17:16:19 +0000

Ian Garry has very different thoughts about potential fights with the biggest stars in mixed martial arts and boxing.

The Irishman, who has been making a name for himself in MMA’s premier promotion, currently boasts a perfect 13-0 record ahead of his fight with Vicente Luque at UFC 296 on December 16.

Garry was inspired to pursue MMA by McGregor

Getty

‘The Future’ popped into the talkSPORT to talk about his upcoming fight

talkSPORT

Garry is a self-confessed fan of McGregor and has mimicked the UFC legend throughout his run with the company by copying his signature walk and famous trash talk.

Despite operating in a division ‘Notorious’ is known to frequent, Garry insists he will never entertain what would be an extremely lucrative fight with the former dual-weight champion.

“If I had a fight against Conor McGregor I would cheer for Conor McGregor,” Garry told talkSPORT Drive on Friday.

“I will absolutely sit here and say I will fight any man on the planet, except that man.

“I have love and respect for everything that man has done for my country but also for me. The inspiration that man gave me, a fight against him doesn’t interest me in any way, shape, or form.

“We met up when we went to Dublin. We went to his pub, we had some food, chatted – it was awesome – we did some training. It was such an incredible, surreal experience and I’m forever grateful.”

While a fight with the biggest star in MMA isn’t an option, Garry does have one eye on a potential showdown with the most famous man in another sport.

The 25-year-old is confident he could handle undisputed super middleweight boxing world champion Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez due to his sheer size.

Garry recently got the chance to spar with his idol – but he won’t fight him for real

@TheNotoriousMMA - Instagram

Canelo is a much more appealing opponent and one he thinks he can beat

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Garry added: “I would fight Canelo Alvarez tomorrow and I promise you I would beat him.

“That’s not a joke. I promise you I will beat him. He’s 5ft9in, he wouldn’t be able to touch me. I’m 6ft3in. I’d throw a jab and he’d never beat me.

“I promise you now, if I put all my effort into boxing for eight weeks, I could beat Canelo Alvarez. That’s a promise!”

Garry isn’t the first UFC star to call out the Mexican boxing icon.

Kamaru Usman and Nate Diaz have previously tried to chase a fight with Canelo, but he has repeatedly distanced himself from crossover bouts without categorically ruling them out.

‘The Future’ is currently ranked at 10 in the welterweight division and is at least a couple more wins away from being a potential challenger for Leon Edwards’ belt.

Perhaps if he beats ‘Rocky’ and wins UFC gold, Garry will become an appealing option to Canelo who earns tens of millions every time he competes.

Until then, a fight with Alvarez is less likely than McGregor vs Garry.

Francis Ngannou battered UFC rival’s head into fence with vicious KO and even Mike Tyson was impressed

Jordan Ellis — Fri, 27 Oct 2023 13:28:23 +0000

Francis Ngannou had some spectacular knockouts during his UFC career – but none of them were quicker than his finish of Jairzinho Rozenstruik.

Just 20 seconds was all he needed to sleep the decorated kickboxer in May 2020.

Roznestruik slumped into the cage despondently after the brutal shots

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After rebounding from back-to-back decision defeats by knocking out Cain Velasquez, Curtis Blaydes and Junior dos Santos, Ngannou was booked in a title eliminator bout against an undefeated prospect.

Rozenstruik quickly earned a 10-0 record after transitioning to mixed martial arts and was fresh off a brutal fifth-round stoppage win over Alistair Overeem whose lip seemed to explode during their fight in December 2019.

Several months later, he found himself standing opposite Ngannou.

‘Bigi Boy’ landed an inside leg kick to start proceedings, but Ngannou used his noticeable size advantage to square up and run down his opponent.

The Cameroon-born fighter threw a series of shots until a left hook caught Rozenstruik flush on the jaw and it sent him to sleep against the cage.

Rather than back away from his unconscious rival, ‘The Predator’ lived up to his nickname by landing several unnecessary shots.

Rozenstruik’s head bounced off the fence as Ngannou uncorked five follow-up hooks before veteran referee Dan Miragliotta was able to step in and wave off the bout.

Boxing legend Mike Tyson was one of the many people watching who were blown away by Ngannou’s ruthlessly quick finish against Rozenstruik.

Rozenstruik eventually regained his senses

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Taking to Twitter, Tyson wrote: “Resounding…vicious…future champ. Francis Ngannou 20 second knockout tonight.”

The 57-year-old forged a career out of destroying opponents during his reign of terror in the 1980s as he left top heavyweight contenders and legends on their backs.

In fact, growing up as a child, Ngannou was a huge fan of ‘Iron Mike’ and even wanted to emulate his career inside the boxing ring.

On Saturday, he’ll get the chance to realise his boxing dream when he debuts in the squared circle against WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Fury vs Ngannou is set for Saturday night

Mikey Williams/Top Rank

The former UFC star has been working with ‘Iron Mike’ in recent months

Mike Tyson - Instagram

Furthermore, Ngannou will have Tyson in his corner after hooking up with the youngest heavyweight champion in boxing history who has been training him to beat ‘The Gypsy King’.

While Ngannou’s career has gone from strength to strength since beating Rozenstruik, the Surinamese star has struggled during the seven fights that have followed.

Once a potential title contender, Rozenstruik has lost four more fights since being blown away by Ngannou and has just one win from his last four bouts in MMA’s premier promotion.

Last time out, he was supposed to be an acid test for rising star Jailton Almeida but was taken down and submitted by the Brazilian in less than four minutes.

Quick stoppage wins over Chris Daukaus, Junior dos Santos and Augusto Sakai mean he’s in no danger of being cut but it appears this once promising prospect was derailed by Ngannou’s frightening power.

It’ll be arguably the biggest upset in boxing history if he is able to do something similar to Fury during ‘The Battle of the Baddest’ this weekend.

Conor McGregor sends threatening message to Manny Pacquiao ahead of awkward reunion at Tyson Fury vs Francis Ngannou

Jordan Ellis — Fri, 27 Oct 2023 09:42:51 +0000

Conor McGregor is set for an awkward encounter with Manny Pacquiao.

On Thursday, ‘Notorious’ announced that he will be in Saudi Arabia on Saturday to watch his former UFC colleague Francis Ngannou debut in boxing against WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury.

Fury vs Ngannou is one of the biggest fights of 2023

2023 Anadolu Agency

McGregor will fly to Saudi Arabia on Friday

Matthew Pover/Matchroom

On the same day, boxing legend Manny Pacquiao also confirmed he is jetting off to the Middle East for what is one of the most anticipated crossover bouts of all time.

McGregor soon realised that he would be in the same vicinity as Pacquiao and reignited his rivalry with the eight-weight world champion he was supposed to box in 2021.

He said in a since-deleted X – formerly known as Twitter – voice note: “Where’s my $8 million from that court case, Manny Pacquiao? You owe me $8 million, Manny.

“You can appeal all you want, hurry up with your appeal, you owe me that dough, lad. You can’t sign a contract with an agency to represent you and then go and start to do other things like imminently, straight away.

“You only just signed the contract, are you crazy? Are you stupid, Manny? Are you guys stupid? I’ll kick you in the head, in the neck, the inside leg and take you off your feet and drag you by your ankle across the stage. And what then?

“I had Floyd [Mayweather] bent over, I could’ve done anything to him, I should’ve done anything to him. I should’ve shown the world because it’s doing my head in a bit the way the process is.”

In May, McGregor’s management team successfully sued Pacquiao.

Paradigm Sports claimed they had already paid £2.63million ($3.3m) to Pacquiao before he walked away from the exclusive two-fight deal he signed with them.

Pacquiao signed with Paradigm Sports in 2020

McGregor didn’t like his team being disrespected by the boxing icon

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Paradigm also asserted the Filipino boxing icon failed to disclose a pre-existing management deal before linking up with them in February 2020 – the company headed by Audie Attar wanted £16million [$20m] in damages.

A jury in California returned a 9-3 verdict in Paradigm’s favour, awarding them £1.43m [$1.8m] in addition to the £2.63m [$3.3m] they had initially paid to Pacquiao, totalling just over £4m [$5.1m].

However, that fee could increase to £6.4m [$8m] when legal fees are factored in, and the former dual-weight UFC champion was quick to celebrate the legal victory on social media.

Several months later, it appears Pacquiao is still trying to get out of paying the settlement and McGregor is intent on collecting for his representatives.

Security may need to keep the pair apart this weekend or risk their beef overshadowing ‘The Battle of the Baddest’ between Fury and Ngannou.